CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
EARTH FORCES CAMP – COASTLINE: 2 days and six hours before reaching Maelun.
It was the end of the second long day of marching. We had finally pushed our way through the outskirts of the thick jungle and were now camping on a sandy beach that ran along the edge of a blue sea. Morale was still high, but I could see fatigue setting in, especially in myself.
The march had given me too much time to think, and I didn’t like where my head kept going. My dad was a leader, and a damn good one, a great general, and living in his shadow had felt crushing sometimes. I loved my father, but how could I ever be half the man he was? Now I found myself on an alien world somehow doing the one thing I’d convinced myself most of my life that I could never do. I wished he was here now.
Since the beginning, I’d told myself I’d find my footing as a fighter the same way the others had. But every engagement pushed me further back than the one before. More spawning, more coordinating, and watching my friends take the risks while I managed things from somewhere safe. Every time my reserves climbed high enough, I spent them again, spawning more cohorts whenever I had the chance, and out here beyond Earth’s territory, it hit harder and drained faster, leaving me feeling hollowed out. I fully intended to be with them during this fight. I pulled on the composite armor ARi had already made for me and settled in to dig into my nightly ration, startled when a system window popped into view.
[SYSTEM WINDOW] COMBAT REPORT
Outcome: Victory – Maelun City Engagement.
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41 Reaper spider constructs destroyed.
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1 Mounted Bolt Launcher destroyed.
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8 Kobolkai (Level 3) killed.
Jack, Kobold Rogue, Sikh Warrior — Killed 23 Reaper spider constructs with a grenade; killed 4 Reaper spider constructs with a khopesh; killed 1 large Reaper spider construct with a khopesh; destroyed 1 Mounted Bolt Launcher with a chakram and khopesh; killed 1 Kobolkai Level 3 with a khopesh.
Maddie, Kobold Rogue, Viṣakanyā — Killed 6 Reaper spider constructs with kris daggers; killed 3 Kobolkai Level 3 with wrist darts and kris daggers.
Erica, Kobold Rogue, Viṣakanyā — Killed 2 Reaper spider constructs with kris daggers; killed 2 Kobolkai Level 3 with wrist darts.
Tony, Kobold Rogue, Viṣakanyā — Killed 3 Reaper spider constructs with kris daggers; killed 1 Kobolkai Level 3 with kris daggers; killed 1 Kobolkai Level 7 with kris daggers.
ARi, Guide — Killed 2 large Reaper spider constructs with Adaptive Combat Construct.
“What is it, Gavin? What’s happening?” Tim said, standing up.
I dismissed the window. Before I could answer, ARi’s projection was standing next to Tim.
“ARi, are you okay?”
“I’m okay, Gav. Did you miss me?”
“Of course I do. But at the moment, not as much as I’m missing the system windows. Not having any information is making me feel like we’re marching into this blind.”
“What system window?” Tim said, exasperated.
“This one,” I said as I threw my hand up, projecting a system window above the campfire.
Kyle, Tanya, and Yumi joined us and I watched the looks of shock on their faces as they read the battle report.
“Holy shit,” Yumi said. “Is that Jack’s squad?”
“It is,” ARi said. “They’re literally fighting street-to-street, and house-to-house right now.”
“What the hell is a kobolkai?”
“Apparently it’s a word used for native kobolds who’ve sided with the invaders. I’ll tell you everything, Gavin, but we’ve got to take care of some business here first. And I’m afraid there’s not going to be much time to rest. Here’s what you need to know: Jack met with the city’s Matriarch. The native kobolds of this world, which is actually called Aedaea, have agreed to Earth’s terms.”
“That’s great news, ARi. Were there any conditions?”
“No. None. Jack said that you and I need to have a sit-down with this Matriarch as soon as possible. As soon as she figured out what Jack was, negotiations moved quickly after.”
“It doesn’t sound like they’ve got much of a fighting force left, though, and I don’t know how long our rogues are gonna be able to hold. They were able to barricade the gate though.”
“The Reapers have only assaulted the city with constructs and some of that siege equipment that they used against us.” She waved her hand and changed the projection, which was now showing wireframe diagrams of the familiar spider-like constructs and the mounted bolt launchers.
“I don’t know how, Gav, but they’ve got a lot more constructs than we thought. There also seems to be a lot more of these kobolkai. They’re in a fortified position on the outside of the city. The Reapers are supplying them with weapons and armor, but so far it doesn’t look like anything we haven’t already seen up to this point.”
“How long do you think they can hold?”
“I don’t know, Gav. I really don’t.”
“Is everything okay back home?” Yumi asked.
“Lilly seems pretty pissed off that we’ve trapped her in the den. That’s been about the most excitement we’ve had here. Two squads of Praetorians are on the walls, and the rest are down here with me. I was able to take out two of the larger spiders that were patrolling the perimeter of the city on my way back with Bishop, and leveled up.”
“All right, ARi, we should probably go over your level up then. The rest of us can go over our own levels en route if you want any input from the group. In the meantime, let’s get this column ready to move.”
Charlie and a couple of the squad leaders had already joined us at the campfire when they heard the commotion, followed by Bishop, who made his way toward the fire and now sat next to me.
“Okay, you guys. Here are my options,” ARi said, throwing her hand out and changing the projection above the fire.
[SYSTEM WINDOW]: SKILL SELECTION
Congratulations, ARi!
You have 1 unassigned skill point to spend. Please select one of the following:
Territorial Simulacrum 1
Project a temporary zone of influence with a radius of 50 yards that lasts up to three hours. The zone acts like a short-term extension of your influence. This will temporarily give access to phase abilities for the duration of Territorial Simulacrum. This zone is not a Control-Node and does not grant node protections. Cooldown: 6 hours. Increasing this skill at higher tiers extends radius and duration. Grants +2 Control Points and +1 Research Slot.
Reinforced Frames 1
Improve the durability of constructs you create or directly assemble. Reinforced frames take less structural damage, gain extra armor, and require less repair after combat. These benefits apply automatically when you build or summon eligible constructs. Grants +1 Control Point and +2 Manufacturing Slots.
Resource Echo 1
Send a short resonant pulse that accelerates detection and extraction in a small area for ten minutes. The pulse raises yield and increases the chance to find rare components or reagents. Upgrading this skill increases area and duration. Grants +1 Control Point, +1 Research Slot, and +1 Manufacturing Slot.
ARi’s projection snapped to Kyle in that weird, creepy-horror-flick kind of way.
“I swear to God, Kyle, if I hear one word out of your mouth about OP…” The move scared him, and in the process of trying to step back he tripped and fell on his ass.
“I’m not gonna say a word,” he said, laughing.
“ARi, I think you know which one I’m thinking.”
“Yeah, Territorial Simulacrum definitely makes the most sense especially in the current situation. I’m leaning that way too, Gav,” ARi said.
She selected the skill and we all stared at her for a moment.
“What?” she said.
“We were waiting for you to start glowing,” Yumi said.
“Oh, well I did. Well, I did, here anyway… Hold on.” ARi made her projection glow for a minute, followed by miniature fireworks that sparked around the top of her head along with what looked like glittering confetti as she threw us an impish grin.
“Hey, sarcasm or not, I totally wish that happened every time we chose a new skill! That was awesome,” Yumi said.
“I’m gonna go ahead and cast Territorial Simulacrum. As soon as it’s active, I’ll spawn two new constructs, smaller scaled-down versions of Big Gus. We’ll go ahead and keep the six-leg configuration. I’ll fit a crew compartment in the middle of each one for passengers, then mount a dart launcher on the front and back with long CO2 tanks running down the sides to feed them. It’ll be a scaled-up version of the gas-fed setup that we’re using on the smaller mobile platforms. You’ll need to assign a kobold gunner to each position so it doesn’t eat up my control points. The kobolds’ll be able to hang their shields on the outside of the compartment for a little extra protection too.”
Kyle smiled. “Like they used to on old Viking longboats. That’s really smart, ARi. They’ll get a little extra protection from the shields without costing you control points, since they’re technically not part of the construct.”
“I’m also gonna add some caging around the gunner positions on the small platforms,” ARi said, gesturing at the six-legged, motorcycle-sized constructs on top of the hill. “They’ve been snagging on branches and debris on the march and I don’t want anyone getting dragged off at speed.”
“I’ll change my Gavin Catcher into an enclosed compartment for the rest of you. It’s not gonna be a comfortable ride, but we’re gonna have to move fast.”
Tim looked down at Charlie. “Spread the word and get everybody ready to board the new constructs. Find four gunners.”
Charlie tapped his chest and ran toward the now-rousing kobold formations.
“ARi, if that’s the case, can you move our two smaller constructs to either side of Big Gus and move one of the troop carriers in front and the other to the rear?” Tim added.
“That’s easy enough,” ARi said. “My suggestion is we follow the coastline up before cutting across. There’s a valley and the ground’s gonna be a lot easier to traverse. It’ll shave a couple hours off the travel time. Once we’re within sight of the city, we can demount and put the kobolds into formation. I’ll leave the fighting to you guys, but unless there’s a good reason for me to be somewhere else, I’ll be staying close to Gavin.”
“If we can wait for at least an hour, I can spawn a couple more squads,” I said.
“Honestly, Gav, I don’t think we should wait. It sounds like Jack’s swimming in it, and we need to get there as soon as possible. Once we’re there, we can see what the situation looks like.”
“If I do that, though, it’s going to drain me, Tim. I don’t want to be running on empty for the fight.”
“Well, that’s even more of a reason for ARi to keep Bishop with you,” Tim said.
I could see the unease on Tim’s face.
“Gavin, once we get closer, you’re going to spawn Praetorians,” Tanya said. “If you go down it’s going to be bad and we won’t even be able to spawn any additional cohorts until we can bring you back.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not sitting this fight out.”
Tim jumped in. “Gavin, you’re not the only one who’s been making plans and I’m sorry that we didn’t include you or ARi in ours. But honestly, if we didn’t actually need you on site during this battle we would have made you stay.”
“What the hell, you guys, what was your plan, stash me in the woods or something while you all go off and risk your lives?” I said.
“No. Once we’re in position, we’ll be setting up some kind of forward observation post,” Kyle said. “I’ll be using my abilities to carve out a deep bunker and encase it in stone.”
“I’ll be able to help with that now with my new skill.” ARi said.
“Are you serious? You guys felt like you couldn’t tell me this?”
“Gav. Your safety was a condition of the cohort leadership,” Tim said. “They came to us in confidence. They made their case and we all agreed.”
A small voice spoke from behind me. “Architect, we don’t mean to cause conflict. But our primary directive is to keep the Ward safe. If we can’t bring more kobolds into this world, we won’t be able to do this.” I turned to see Charlie holding his helmet.
ARi’s projection stepped in front of me. I could see what looked like a tear rolling down her cheek, even through the hologram.
“Gavin, please don’t be mad at them. I didn’t know they were doing this, but I’m glad that they are. Please, do this for me.”
“Okay, ARi, I will. I’m still feeling a little pissed off and a little bit betrayed. But I understand.”
I could see the columns, both in front and behind us now, boarding the new constructs. I looked back to Tanya. “I’m going to spawn your Praetorians now and they can ride with us. Don’t let Yumi lift me up into that damn thing again with her drones. I don’t know why, but that shit scares the hell out of me.”
I raised my hand and spawned three Praetorian Bladeguards. The effort, once again, drained my energy reserves and my stamina, and I dropped to my knees. Tanya caught me and helped me settle to the ground. I waved Charlie over, and a little kobold knelt beside me.
“You and the other kobolds don’t need to be afraid of upsetting me, especially not for following my own instructions,” I said. “I’m assuming Red, Sawyer and Jack were behind this?”
“Mostly Jack and Sawyer,” he confessed. “But Red and I agree, and so do the other squad leaders.”
“Pull these Praetorians aside and give them whatever instructions you and the others intended to give the squad that was to guard me. As I recover, I’ll fill each of their squads with additional Praetorians. That way you can focus on the battle and not on my safety. Is that fair?”
Charlie looked at the ground sheepishly before nodding.
“Charlie, it’s okay,” I said again. “I trust you guys.”
He ran over to the new Praetorians.
ARi looked worried as she knelt on the other side of me. “Gavin, I don’t understand why that drained you so much.”
“I’m level eight. I spawned those Praetorians at level seven,” I said. “I taxed my stamina, and when I run out of stamina it digs into my health.”
“What the hell, Gav,” Tanya said.
“This was a major oversight on my part. I’m sorry you guys felt like you couldn’t tell me.”
I tasted blood in my mouth. I looked up at Tanya, shocked, realizing all at once that I may have taxed myself too much this time. The system window that snapped up in front of me confirmed it.
“Can’t you heal him?” ARi asked.
“It’s not letting me. It says he has a debuff called blood toll,” Tanya replied, hovering her hands over me.
“I’ll be fine, ARi. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this to myself,” I said. “Although this time, it took about a third of my health.”
“You and your cowboy shit,” Tanya said, pulling a small vial from her inventory and pressing it to my lips. “Drink this. It’ll ease the pain and help you sleep.”
I smiled back at her through bloody teeth and drank the vial. Soon after, I felt myself being pulled toward unconsciousness. My eyelids grew heavy. “No force fields,” I barely managed to get out before I fell into a deep sleep.