Chapter 83 - Inverse Process

(In space near Norton Station, in orbit of Selusa Secundus, Selusa System)

Selusa Secundus was not an important planet. Oh sure, there were plenty of Imperial citizens living on the planet, and the others in the system, but it was not known for anything in particular other than being a hellacious world to try and eke out a living on, and there was a large prison out in the desert. Otherwise, there wasn’t anything worth talking about here, certainly nothing of strategic value. Nothing, that is, except Norton Station.

Started at the beginning of the Empire, Norton Station was the premier site for the study of technological ‘pathogens’ in the Empire. Typically, this meant codebreakers and programmers, working tirelessly (or not so tirelessly, if you listened to complaints) to do their part in the war between computer viruses and their antiviruses. Of course, that was just civilian viruses and malware, not the stuff put out by other interstellar polities.

Officially, that is. Unofficially, the military and government stuff were moved down to Oppenheimer Research Base on the surface, where any ‘issues’ wouldn’t affect critical station systems, like life support. That wasn’t usually a problem, since government-issued viruses were basically malware looking to let spies into systems, but there had been a few close calls in the past. So when it came time to research a counteragent to the Legion Plague, Oppenheimer was the obvious choice

That explained the security cordon around Norton Station. Two frigates were on patrol through the Selusa system, and another was orbiting the planet near the station. Nearby, a defense platform not only sported enough weapons to help cover the station from attack, but it had a full wing of fighters, all interceptors, enough to shred any pirate fleet that might think Selsua Secundus was easy pickings. Even if the fighters were last generation, and their crews were trainees and reservists.

Wing Commander Shaifra “Lioness” Gaber, call sign Bloodscar 1, was leading her flight of four fighters on a combat space patrol around the station. Simple job, but two rookies in her group made it something that had to be done. Plus, if she didn’t get enough flight hours, they’d pull her certification, and that would be a bitch and a half to get reinstated. Also wouldn’t look good when she applied for a transfer to a unit that wasn’t on the back end of nowhere, guarding a useless planet and some research sites. Maybe someplace she could see some action.

They were about to start their next turn when all hell broke loose, and Lioness found herself cursing the thought about ‘action’. The two frigates further out from the system disappeared in an instant. They were too far away for the light to reach sensors, but two ships disappearing from scans at the same time? Without warning? Oh, that was bad.

“This is Bloodscar 1 to base. Possible enemy stealth ships in system! Scramble all fighters!”

In the movies, the platform would have had all the fighters launch in a single wave, and all form up, ready to face the unseen menace. In reality, other than Bloodscar squadron, which had been on standby, the other squadrons would not be ready to fly quickly. According to the information the deck chief gave her, Alpha would be in the air in one minute, but the rest wouldn’t be up for another five to ten, depending on whether she wanted missiles.

The whole point became moot when two ships dropped out of hyperspace right on top of the defense platform. One looked like a modified freighter, while the other was clearly an Imperial Marine Transport. Both clearly were armed, and perfectly capable of taking on the panicked point defense the platform was just now bringing online. The hope she had that the Lexichan, the other frigate in system, would help fight off the attackers was dashed when two of the invisible corvettes from the security briefings dropped out of hyperspace next to it, and unleashed their arsenals, also punching above their weight class against an unprepared foe.

“Damnit. Alpha flight, we have to take the pressure off the platform so they can launch fighters. Form up on me, we’re taking out that freighter first. When more of our birds are in the air, we’ll worry about the Transport.”

That was when she heard the shrill wail of the missile lock warning, her HUD telling her that it was far too close to escape or evade. Without thinking, she punched the eject button, just before the world turned white in the blackness of space, followed by an even colder darkness…

(Oppenheimer Research Base, Selusa Secundus)

The assault ships blasted what air defense turrets there were into smoking rubble, and landed, disgorging their complements of fully armed and armored marines, who hit the ground running, before lifting off again to provide what air support they could. The Black Star Marines were a fighting force trained in two worlds to give first hand demonstrations of mayhem and destruction to their enemies. The soldiers guarding the base were simply no match, even if they weren’t outnumbered by a factor of five to three.

Major Kahn looked at his men, and grinned. Oh, sure, they hadn’t been completely clean on this op. Even outmatched soldiers will get their licks in before they go down, but when dying isn’t the end, like it was in the real world, then getting KIA was more cause to get ribbed by your buddies than anything else. Especially Dameron. Seems someone forgot to tell him that grenades weren’t your friend after you pulled the pin, and he held on just a bit too long. He’d be hearing about that in the AAR, no doubt.

“All right, you sorry excuses for Marines! Push forward, and take this complex! We got our marching orders, so find the plans to anything that looks like a cure for a nanoplague. Boss has informed me that the squad that finds the plans first is getting treated by him in person to a wild night in Thelorious when we get back to Dimiya. And I KNOW you sorry sods have seen the footage of his last ‘night out’! And the Boss is picking up the tab! So get a move on you louts!”

A bit of friendly competition would help the squads move faster, and keep from slacking off, as they might be tempted to do with such lackluster opponents. Lieutenant Meyers looked his way, “The Boss didn’t really say that, did he?”

The Major chuckled. “Hell no. Didn’t have time before the ‘go save the world’ mission dropped on his head. Must have slipped his mind, but I’m sure he’ll go for it.”

Meyers shook her head, chuckling. “Fine. Maybe I’ll get to be Major after he rips you a new one for promising to cover a whole squad of marines’ tabs.”

Kahn nodded slowly. “Maybe, but I think he’ll be fine with it. He knew what he was getting into when he purposefully looked for Marines, after all. But what about you? Sounds like you aren’t as down on the boss as you were before the Cantina.”

Meyers frowned considering that. “Well, he’s a bastard, but he knows it, and owns it. And he’s not as big a bastard as his stream makes him out to be. I’ve talked with the girls, and while some of them have Stepford settings on their slave gear, he turned it off on most of them, except that catgirl that used to be a commando.” She looked a bit disgusted as she chewed the last part of that sentence.

The Major sighed. That whole thing disturbed him more than he wanted to admit, especially since, unlike Meyers, he’d been read in on that secret and gotten the full classified brief. The crazy bastard had invented a new power, using the powers he’d already had as a base. Frankly, it was one of those ‘oh FUCK no’ powers that no one wanted to think about. “There’s more going on with that one. Suffice to say that letting her go would cause more problems, for everyone, than keeping her. Kindof like how having nanites is no problem, unless you wanna go full Jagloth on people. Reason Boss is here and that Legion guy is dust is because the Boss realized what a shitstorm that would be, and has done his best to keep the exact nature of what he did under wraps.”

“Yeah, that’s kindof what that Cali girl said. He used the catgirl as a ‘weapons test’, but once that was done, he had to keep her around because he couldn’t let the knowledge about just what he did get out there, and even if he wiped her memory, someone else could dig it up if they had access to her. Sucks, but it would have been kinder to kill her.”

Kahn nodded, even as he pulled the trigger to blast an enemy in the face as he sprang from cover at them as they moved through the facility. “Maybe. But he could have done a lot worse to her, and the fact is he hasn’t done it again, mainly because there’s been non-nuclear ways to get the point across.”

They cut the chatter as their command squad made it to their target lab. Once the targets inside were neutralized, Kahn had his squad’s tech person give the computers a look while he began checking on what these people might have been in to. So far, this lab looked like it would be a bust, since they were apparently looking at codes that the basic notes he found suggested had been ‘obtained’ from Ihm Army sources. Oh well, the data should still be somewhere in the base, since this was where the event quest had told them to go.

“Major, this is Sergeant Peters in Charlie. I think we’ve got something you need to take a look at.”

“Understood, Sergeant, we’ll be there in ten.”

Kahn looked at the tech, who shook her head. “No joy. Though I am copying the research data. It will give our people a boost if we ever have to break Ihm Military codes. Or if we ever need to pretend to have Ihm Military codes.”

“Works for me. Let’s go find what Charlie found.”

(BSN Vicious Return, Medbay)

Lioness was not feeling quite up to her name when the blackness became white again, accompanied by a pounding in her head. Slowly, she tried to rise, but soon gave that idea up as a bad job. Mostly, that was due to the fact that the lights in the room swam about in ways that made her nauseous if she tried to sit up. She figured she definitely had a concussion, at the least. But she was alive, and in a medbay, so she had hopes of staying alive. Which brought her to the other reason she wasn’t moving too much: metal restraints locking her hands to the rails of the bed.

She could make out two shapes near her bed. Probably people, but seeing clearly wasn’t on the list of things she could do at the moment. One of the shapes leaned forward, and stuck something next to her neck. She felt the rush of healing nanos, and soon the shapes in front of her resolved themselves into the shapes of two people wearing black uniforms. One was clearly a doctor, and had the white coat for it. He was also a slave, and had the collar for that, too. The other was a man, and Lioness would have bet her wings that she was looking at a fellow pilot.

The pilot nodded to the doc, and whispered (or maybe just talked softly, and she couldn’t hear over the ringing in her ears) to him, before turning back to Shaifra. “Name and rank, pilot?”

“Wing Commander Shaifra Gaber, Imperial Navy. I’m a prisoner, then? You don’t look like pirates.”

The man chuckled. “That’s because technically we’re mercenaries and privateers.”

“So you’re sanctioned pirates.”

“If you like. But you’re the one who just got shot down without ever seeing the ship that hit you, if you want to be particular about things. Anyways, you can call me Parca, from the Black Star Navy.”

That made things click. “You’re the mysterious group working with the rebels?”

“Working with the Loyalists, since Empress Merida didn’t kill off most of her family attempting a coup. But we’re here to talk about you. See, you’re clearly a good pilot, with reflexes and instincts like yours. Shot like that should have killed your ship before you even had time to soil yourself, but you not only reacted, but managed to punch out before you were reduced to space debris. Which is why you’re getting a choice when the rest of the Imperial Navy forces in this system are dead.”

“What choice do I have? Death or you sell me to the rebels?”

The man chuckled. “Death isn’t on the table for you, since you refused it the first time, Commander Gaber. Instead, you get the choice of being a prisoner until such time as the current conflict is resolved or the Empress releases you, or you get to join up as part of our group. But that comes with certain guarantees, to ensure you don’t do anything like trying to blow yourself or others up. But the collar might come off if you prove your loyalty.”

“Anyways, I’ll let you think on that while you rest up. We have to get moving if we’re going to meet up for the assault on Sol.”

And with that, the pilot left her with her thoughts while she considered her fate.

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Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):
Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT
Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):
Volume 1 - Tutorial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB
Omnibus 1 - Volumes 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354X

Into the Black (Sci-Fi LitRPG):
Book I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL
Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y

City of Champions Online (Superhero LitRPG):
Issue I - Origin Stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SHXQS1

The Kalipshae Affair (A First Contact Short Story): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739V6R6T

Chapter 82 - Ceti Alpha 5

(Ceti Alpha 5, Secret Imperial Research Facility, Codename: Botany Bay)

Ceti Alpha was a rather worthless system, all told. The first four of the inner planets were lifeless husks of rock, without even any heavy metals to make them worth mining. There were two gas giants with a bit of stellar debris hanging around them further out, but there wasn’t enough reason to set up gas mining ships around Ceti Alpha 7 and 8 when there were no colonies in this system. Ceti Alpha 6 had blown up during the early years of hyperdrive research, when some damn fool accidentally turned an experimental drive on while on the planet’s surface, and somehow caused chain reaction that tore the planet apart, and caused the spatial rifts that made FTL travel impossible inside the system.

Before that, Ceti Alpha 5 had been a lush planet, easily supporting life. A real Earth type, with a thriving colony. But the explosion of Ceti Alpha 6 had shifted 5’s orbit, and the result was devastating to the climate. What had been a perfect example of an agricultural world had become a desert planet overnight (in geological terms). Where life had flourished, there was now a nearly lifeless ball of sand, the only indigenous lifeform remaining that was worth noting being a type of worm that burrowed into a victim’s brain through the ear as a larvae, leaving them ‘suggestible’ as they were slowly killed by the growing creature.

Mostly lifeless, at any rate.

They had reviewed what information they could about the base while in hyperspace. When they had dropped out of hyperspace on the edge of the system, they had transmitted codes as an imperial freighter on a supply run. Would those codes be accepted? Or had someone changed them between now and whenever the information they’d gathered been collected? So far, there weren’t signs of battle fleets dropping into the system, so I was hoping that we were OK, for now.

“Carissa, do you have the location of their FTL array?”

“Yes, Captain. And I’ve trickle charged the main guns, so they shouldn’t know what’s about to hit them. Active stealth systems might not work completely, but the hull’s composition and the paint still have some effect on their sensors. Their shields are not up.”

“Fire. I don’t want any uninvited guests coming to my party.”

The Raven unleashed her twin cannons, and where before there was a fully functional FTL communications array, there was now molten slag, completely nonfunctional except as a light show on the desert surface. The shields came up, but too late. The assault shuttle was already inside their perimeter, having ghosted in while the Raven was on the other side of the planet from the base. Everyone always looks up when you’re expecting an assault from space. No one ever thinks about someone being foolish enough to attack you from the ground in a space assault.

Blasting our way into the docking bay, the assault shuttle landed, with its guns covering the hangar doors, in case anyone tried to box us in, or we needed to beat a hasty retreat. The Raven was flying as stealthily as one could under the circumstances, with Carissa and Shearah aboard to keep things going. Neither one of them were really ‘combat’ types, so while I made sure they had decent skill levels in weapons, I kept them out of full assault situations like we were doing here.

I led the way out of the shuttle, with Sheila, Cali, Jaynie, and Raven behind me in a diamond formation, with Sheila in the center. She was turning into a good shot, but I was fairly certain her sister would find some creative way to kill me if I got her killed, so she got a bit of protection there. As we moved, Raven worked on hacking her way into the base computers.

Whoever was in charge of base security was smart, at least when it came to IT. There was a ‘public’ net, for announcements (“Intruder Alert” was the hot item on today’s playlist) and other public communications. There was a basic map available, but it didn’t show security emplacements, access nodes, or anything beyond the names of various labs and the project leader for each lab. Anything that was actually useful was on secure local nets.

Fortunately, the scant intel mentioned who we were looking for. Checking the data, Raven soon highlighted the lab where our target, a Dr. K. N. Singh, was stationed, and displayed the shortest route to the lab on our HUDs. This was just at the time we ran into the first hastily thrown together security checkpoint.

It was a simple affair, really. Just a few guards ducked behind the edge of a hatch, aiming their weapons at us. What was new was the type of weapon they were firing. I hadn’t seen a gun shooting those crackling blue bolts of electricity before in game, but I was fairly certain they were hazardous to my health. Fortunately, these guys seemed to be dressed in only basic uniforms with armored vests. Good enough when dealing with pirates or grabby freighters, since the idea was that they just needed to hold out until the fleet got there, but not good enough for us.

“Jaynie, you’re up!”

“Got it, boss!” I could tell she was grinning, even though I couldn’t see her face through the helmet of the spec ops armor we were wearing. She always did love playing with her toys, but some toys were best shared with others. So it was in that spirit of sharing that she sent one of her toys down the hallway. A moment later, the grenade went off, and the checkpoint was cleared.

This was a secret research station, on a dead world, in a worthless system. The entire staff was only a couple hundred people, of which only 20 or so were security. When taking that into account, we just wiped out a fifth of their defenses with a grenade. Unfortunately, those deaths took up a bit of time, which allowed the remaining guards to remotely lock down the labs and have more established guard posts put up in front of main control and the engineering spaces. That was fine, though, we didn’t need to get into all the labs, just one.

On a whim, I picked up the gun the opposition was using, and was surprised by its stats.

Neural Disruptor Rifle
Type	Assault Rifle	Rank	Rare
Damage	Special	Damage Type	Special
This weapon is classified as an assault rifle due to its build and firing style, but is a single shot weapon firing bolts of charged psy-plasma. An experimental weapon designed for nonlethal takedowns, the neural disruptor has not been cleared for field use, due to the unfortunate tendency to sometimes burn out a victim’s central cortex instead of simply paralyzing them. This weapon is defended by energy armor and Sp. Def. Targets with low Sp. Def. have an increased risk of cortex burnout when shot by this weapon. Neural Disruptor – On hit, paralyzes living target for a duration of (10 – CON/10) minutes. Targets have a (25 – Sp.Def./10) percent chance of having their central cortex burned out upon impact, rendering them brain dead. Safety Lock – Keyed to implants or biometrics. (LOCKED) 10 shot clips (2000 PP to reload)

OK, so this thing was choice, but I could definitely see the downsides. If you didn’t have a Sp. Def. of at least 250, you were risking getting seriously fucked by this ‘nonlethal’ weapon. But it made sense that the main weapon of security at a black research site would be something like this. After all, prisoners can be interrogated to find out who sent them, and then used as ‘test subjects’.

Of course, now the guns were mine. Wouldn’t be able to use them in most situations, but here? They’d do nicely, once we got them unlocked. Raven knew me so well, I didn’t even have to ask before she was already going into the guns and disabling the safety locks, so we could use them. Later, we’d work out a way for us to use them safely, even when in armor, without getting implants that could ID us. Right now, we had a job to do.

We moved quickly through the relatively small base, until we came to Dr. Singh’s lab. We covered Raven while she hacked the door. The lockdown protocols were brute force implements, but Raven had skills. Getting through the door was easy for her.

Inside were several people dressed in typical science uniforms (i.e. lab coats), but they didn’t look like normal scientists. For one thing, they were all incredibly attractive, like Greek god/goddess attractive. And they appeared to be centered around one man, in the middle of this group of seven, like he was their leader. When that leader spoke, it was with the rich, arrogant tone of a man who was used to giving orders, and having those orders obeyed.

“You have come at a most opportune time. We were just in need of new test subjects. KNEEL and strip off that armor!”

That ‘kneel’ hit my mind like someone threw a brick at my head. I grit my teeth, and managed to stay up, but only myself and Raven managed it. Cali was already trying to get at the seals of her helmet, though she was fighting it, making the movements jerky and clumsy.

The man did not seem amused that some of us had fought off his compulsion, and said, “YEILD before the superior intellect of one engineered from the womb for greatness!” Again, a brick hit my mind, and this time it was more like a sustained pressure than a blunt impact, but a Sp. Def. of over 300 wasn’t just for show.

Managing to keep my feet, I pointed the neural disruptor at the man, and fired. Instantly, the pressure was gone, and while the others shakily got to their feet, Raven and I shot the rest of the researchers before the shock at seeing their leader fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes wore off.

“What the fucking hell was that?” Cali sounded shaken, and I didn’t blame her.

Sheila was breathing heavily as she answered, “Mental Psy. Powerful, too. That was nasty as hell.”

I shook my head, and said over suit comms, “Jaynie, Cali, Sheila. Secure the prisoners, and make sure they are bound, gagged, and blindfolded. Don’t give them anything to work on. All communication by comms, nothing verbal to give them something to target with. Don’t make it easy on them. If that leader starts doing anything, shoot him again. Raven, I need you to dive the local net, and get research notes on the Deus Strain. I’ll guard the door.”

My team were professionals by this point, and Raven was an AI, so the encryption on the local computers was nothing she couldn’t handle. Before long, we had the files we wanted and I had the canister containing the Legion Virus samples in hand. Destroying nanites is a tricky business, but I knew of something that would do it: a fusion reactor. Fortunately, there just so happened to be one here at the base, just begging for me to dump the nanites in. Oh, and blowing the reactor would be a good way to destroy the base, too.

With our new Neural Disruptors in hand, we shot first, asked questions later as we moved through the base, taking down another twelve guards who were between us and the reactor room. Raven had confirmed the intel, and so I knew we only had four more guards to deal with. The rest of the team kept the doors covered while I sent the nanites into the fuel slot for the reactor, and Raven set the thing to go critical, and erased all the safety protocols. Now we were on the clock. We had ten minutes to get out or we were dead.

Running through the halls, I stretched out with my mental Psy, using that Scan power I’d had to give us some warning, which was good, since I just barely managed to slide under the bolts of energy coming my way when I turned the corner and the last four guards were set up in front of the shuttle bay, intent on giving us a bad day.

The tables and ballistic shields they used as cover did absolutely nothing to stop Jaynie’s grenades from flying over their heads and bouncing off the wall to explode at their feet. The effect of two grenades going off in a metal hallway with lightly armored personnel can be politely called ‘chunky salsa’. Brutal, but effective. Fortunately, it was not my mess to clean up.

We ran into the shuttle bay, and got on board the assault shuttle, without even bothering to look at the remains of the defenders. Two minutes after we lifted off to join the Raven in space, the lab was consumed by a brief artificial sun that quickly burned itself out as the reactor blew. I just hoped the other teams were as successful as we were.

Previous Chapter                                     Table of Contents                                      Next Chapter

Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):

Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT

Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):

Volume 1 - Tutorial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB

Omnibus 1 - Volumes 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354X

Into the Black (Sci-Fi LitRPG):

Book I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL

Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y

City of Champions Online (Superhero LitRPG):

Issue I - Origin Stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SHXQS1

The Kalipshae Affair (A First Contact Short Story): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739V6R6T

Chapter 81 - Event Quest

(BSS Starlight Raven, Alpha Centauri System)

Carissa poked her head into the cockpit while Sheila and I were going through the final launch prep with Raven. The princess was actually turning into a capable navigator, which was good for me. Sure, I’d set myself up so that I could do anything aboard the Starlight Raven that needed doing, but that didn’t mean I could do everything at once. Having people who I could trust to take some of the load was a good thing.

Carissa, on the other hand, had become a very qualified Ship’s Doctor, even though we rarely needed her services. Her services as my secretary/manager, however, were a boon beyond compare, frankly, because she was a genius administrator, as one might expect of someone who had gotten to level 80 primarily through office work and bed work.

“Shearah wanted me to pass the word that the engines are ready and everything checks out. Everyone else is set and ready to go, and we’ve got stores aboard to last us three months, just in case some craziness happens.”

I nodded to her, and said, “Good, we just finished our checklists, so let everyone know that we’ll be heading for Sol in—”

Raven’s voice cut in from the speakers, “Captain, we’re receiving a priority message through the FTL comms from the Dimiya base!”

Well, that sounded bad. Nothing good ever came from priority messages just as you were about to leave port. With a sigh, I said, “Put it through.”

What came up was a report on the intel my people had been sifting through when they hit the Empire’s black research station. The marines had pulled all the data and collared several of the VIPs, so the research and development they’d bene doing there was all ours now. Unfortunately, a lot of it was stuff that rated as war crimes. A couple of those projects would get you buried under a mountain somewhere if you ever tried to use one on the same planet as a civilian population! I wasn’t naïve enough to say that the US didn’t have projects like that back in RL, but having those kinds of things in my hands was a scary thought. That kind of power just begged to be used. Of course, doing that led you down the path of the bastard who created the Legion on Jagloth.

Speaking of said bastard, it seemed his work just wouldn’t die and go quietly into the abyss. Before the quarantine, an Imperial spy had apparently gotten a sample of his early work, and shipped it to the Empire for testing. That much was to be expected. The fact that the Imperials had been playing with the stuff and developing it on a different design path was not, though I guess it should have been. Researchers get blinded by the research, and not the implications of the research.

Event Quest!

Wait, what? I’m fairly certain I hadn’t seen a single quest window the whole time I’d been playing. I’d found all my jobs through in-game resources (like the message boards at dockside bars for freighter captains), or other such things. The company hadn’t handed me a quest since I’d first logged in!

Event Quest! Doomsday Developments The Legion Plague swept across Jagloth and, in the end, forced the Confederacy to burn one of their own worlds to ash and quarantine it for the foreseeable future. The Imperials have obtained an early sample of that nanoware, and were making their own developments. Unfortunately, you were not the first to have access to this information, as your crews found evidence that the files had been accessed by the mad AI, Deus, and research samples were shipped to another location before you launched your raid. The Legion Plague is being studied at an isolated location (uploaded to your computer), away from prying eyes. Internal documents reveal that the finished product will be ready in seven days. However, special rifts in the area prevent FTL travel within the system, and makes stealth impossible. Worse, the base has a fully functional FTL communications array, and there are fleets that can Transition into the system within the hour. A large attack force will surely be discovered and cut off before they can escape. However, a small force, aboard a freighter making a supply run to the base, may be able to infiltrate the labs.
Objectives	Infiltrate Imperial research lab, codenamed: Botany Bay 0/1 Destroy the Legion Samples 0/1 Find researcher notes on Deus Strain 0/5  (Optional) Destroy Botany Bay Research Station 0/1
Rewards	Experience Unknown
Consequences	Earth suffers the same fate as Jagloth.

Event Quest! Oppenheimer Research Base The Legion Plague swept across Jagloth and, in the end, forced the Confederacy to burn one of their own worlds to ash and quarantine it for the foreseeable future. The Imperials have obtained an early sample of that nanoware, and were making their own developments. Unfortunately, you were not the first to have access to this information, as your crews found evidence that the files had been accessed by the mad AI, Deus, and research samples were shipped to another location before you launched your raid. Countermeasures for if someone used the Legion Plague against Imperial worlds are being researched on Salusa Secundus. The research facility is guarded by at least three frigates and a full air wing of three squadrons of fighters. Getting in unseen will prove a challenge, but the potential reward is great.
Objectives	Neutralize Enemy Ships 0/3 Neutralize Enemy Fighters 0/60 Assault Oppenheimer Research Base 0/1 Recover Project: Thermopylae research 0/1 (Optional) Destroy Oppenheimer Research Base 0/1
Rewards	Experience Unknown
Consequences	Those dealing with the Legion Plague or similar attacks must simply hope they can run faster than the Legion and that they don’t get caught in the Exterminatus.

At this point, I would be loving some merely ‘not good’ news. Hell, I’d go for ‘bad’, ‘awful’, or even ‘fucking terrible’. Because it seems like the good boys and girls in the GM suite decided that I was going to get to go and save the world. Literally. Still, I guess I ought to make a couple calls before we change our flight plan.

“Raven, edit the message we got, and prep the highlights for secure transmission, and get me the Empress on the line, highest priority, personal comm if you have to. If anyone questions it, just tell them it is a codeword Handsome Swordsman situation, and they should refer that up the chain of command ASAP.”

I looked over to Carissa, and said, “Tell the others, let them know we’re going to be going on a solo mission. Full combat loads, including the spec ops armor. This is going to be our nastiest job yet, and those spec ops suits might be able to hold up against any… unconventional attacks.”

Carissa went off, and I turned to my console, bringing up Captain Inatumal on the Shinokage. “Captain, change of plans. You will take the Shinokage, Wisteria, and Artemis into Earth space, and begin the survey mission. No ship is to get closer than a light hour to any of the planets or fortifications, and full stealth is to be maintained at all times. The moment you’re discovered, get out of there. Even if you’re not discovered, You are to return to Alpha Centauri within 14 days from now, so the commanders have the information they need to plan the assault. Do you understand your orders?”

The Captain nodded her head. “It will be done, Master. Where will the rest of the Black Star Fleet be going, if I might ask?”

“I have other missions that require their attention. Ready your crews, I want you stored and leaving within an hour. Mollen out.”

I switched to another channel, bringing up Captain Suominen on the Simo Hayha, as well as Captain Am’Rica and Major Khan over on the Thunderfury. “Captains, Major, I’m not going to mince words. We’ve got a situation that requires the loving attention that only the Black Star Navy and the Black Star Marines working together can provide. Captain Suominen, you will take the Hayha, Shadowdancer, Thunderfury, and Vicious Return to the location I’m sending you. Your orders are to eliminate Imperial forces guarding the base, and clear a path for the Marines to capture the base and find the research specified.”

Captain Suominen frowned. “We’re not joining in the scouting party to Earth?”

“Afraid not. The eggheads have been going over the data the Major’s teams pulled out of Raxicore Base, and they found evidence that the Imperials had been experimenting with the Legion Plague.” I waited for the obligatory swearing to die down, and then said, “My thoughts exactly. One piece of information is that while one group was looking and new and wonderful ways to use Armageddon in a bottle, another team has been looking for ways to stop a Legion Plague if it hit one of the Imperial worlds. I need you to attack the base where they’re researching countermeasures, and steal anything that will help us. Because if we fail, then the Empress is probably going to have to burn out Earth, and maybe everything else in the system. I don’t need to tell you the potential problems THAT would bring.”

After another round of obligatory foul language, I nodded to them, and said, “Get moving. I want you to hit hard, hit fast, and get back here before the attack on Sol begins, which means you have 14 days on the outside. The quicker you get back, the more of any countermeasures we can produce in that spare time. Captain Suominen is in command of the fleet, Major Khan is in command of the assault. I’m sending you all the intel we’ve got on the base. It isn’t much, but it is something, and will let you at least make some plans while you’re in hyperspace.”

I closed the line just in time for the Empress to respond to my call. Well, I wasn’t expecting to be able to reach her immediately, so this was still pretty good time. She nodded to me, and clearly wasn’t looking to waste time. “Commodore. I take it something’s up, if you’re calling just before you were scheduled to leave. Especially if you went and used a codeword like Handsome Swordsman to get it to my attention while I was in the middle of a planning meeting.”

I sent a copy of the edited data that Raven had prepared, and said, “Quick version? You know the utter crapstorm that happened on Jagloth? The cause was a nanoware virus that converted those it infected into a hive mind, all sharing the controller’s mind. Imperial spies stole an early version of it before the Confeds quarantined the system. In their infinite wisdom, the people in the black R&D programs decided to research it, instead of simply destroying it, and Deus found out about it. There’s two active facilities we’re tracking, one that will tell us how the AI changed the Legion Plague, and the other that may have countermeasures to stop it, perhaps even a cure.”

I nodded as the color drained out of her face. With a slight tremble in her voice, she said, “Oh god, if the AI could create something like that, it wouldn’t have any compunctions about using it on the population. The damn thing would be able to turn the entire population of Earth into his slaves within weeks, maybe even days!” She paused, as the true implications came to her. “Oh no. We would have to do the same to Earth as they did to Jagloth, wouldn’t we?”

“Yes. And Mars, and Venus, and everything else the AI has touched in Sol. Humanity’s cradle would become a wasteland. The effects on the Empire, on humans everywhere would be… extreme. I don’t doubt that there would be calls for blood, and they would need someone to target and destroy. If you didn’t get there first and provide someone a scapegoat for their jihad, then people will probably lay the blame at your feet.”

I paused for effect, and then said, “Shinokage will lead two of my ships to Earth, to complete the scouting mission. Simo Hayha will lead the other ships, including my Marines, to assault one of the research bases and secure any countermeasures to the Legion Plague that they came up with.”

“And you? What will you and the Raven be doing?”

“We’re going to the black site, and find out what the AI changed about the Jagloth version of the Legion Plague, and hopefully shut it down before it is ready to distribute. And hopefully not get ourselves killed or worse in the process. I’ve sent you the basics of what tactical data we acquired. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to do a lot of winging it, since we don’t have time to plan this right. The longer we delay, the more time the AI has to set up defenses, and convert more of the population. All my ships have orders to be back here in 14 days, to help in the assault.”

“I understand. Godspeed, Commodore.”

Previous Chapter                                     Table of Contents                                          Next Chapter

Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):

Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT

Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):

Volume 1 - Tutorial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB

Omnibus 1 - Volumes 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354X

Into the Black (Sci-Fi LitRPG):

Book I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL

Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y

City of Champions Online (Superhero LitRPG):

Issue I - Origin Stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SHXQS1

The Kalipshae Affair (A First Contact Short Story): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739V6R6T

Prologue - Trade Chat

(NERV Game Site – Official DAtS Offline Forums)

Number5Alive, Golddigger, BurtBacharach, CrazyCelt, M.Mollen, DoYouEvenLyft?, MarcoPolo, MightMakesRight, l44tpally, Bennie, SEA-TAC_Sweetie, Lord_Kickass, Requiesce-in-Pace, MacD, HaveGunsWillTravel, Guardian, GunKitty, Chummer, Inquisitor, SemiSolidSnake, ElfMama, Not_the_Face!, Anonymous3, Anonymous4, Anonymous9, AggregatorOfSorrows, WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, Dolcett, Backlog, DarkAvariel, Knocker, Hullu_Kapteeni, GrimDark, BloodForTheBloodGod, Queen’s_Bitch, BackDat@55Up, DoYouEvenDPS?, MajorTom, Parca, and DarkAngel are in the chat.

CrazyCelt: Damn, this civil war thing is making it nearly impossible to do business in the Empire.

Chummer: What do you mean, CC?

CrazyCelt: I’ve been trying to set up a leatherworking shop out on one of the planets near the Ihm border, creating designer leathers that have good in-game effects, for when people want some protection without looking like they’re wearing body armor. Standard crafter gig, right?

Chummer: Yeah, pretty much the standard thing crafters do in any game. So what’s the problem?

CrazyCelt: With the way the war has disrupted supplies throughout the empire, I can’t reach the markets like I used to, and I’m limited to the supplies I can get on the planet I’m on, which is great for hides, but the local fauna’s meat is toxic to humans, though it makes good fuel, and this is a swampy world, so food and medical supplies are the primary imports. I’ve been eating soypaste rations for the last month, and haven’t had coffee in god knows how long!

Bennie: So in other words, you’re pissed because you can’t get coffee or good food without leaving your hunting grounds.

CrazyCelt: Damn straight I am!

Inquisitor: Well, from what I’ve seen, the war is likely going to end before too long, anyways.

DarkAngel: Well, the rebels certainly seem to be winding up for the final blow, but I doubt the AI cult is going to just go quietly into the night.

Dolcett: Damn, did you see the footage of the Alpha Centauri battle? I never thought about using the Gateways as indirect fire platforms!

SemiSolidSnake: But how did they target them? You can’t get return scans through the gate, so they would have been firing blind, and the ‘brains’ of those missiles aren’t smart enough to form attack patterns like we see in the footage, breaking up to take on their targets.

MajorTom: Same as when you use cruise missiles from over the horizon in RL. You have someone paint the targets closer in.

M.Mollen: You have to admit that it had the value of never being tried before.

DarkAvariel: I should have known you’d be involved in this.

M.Molen: Of course! Do you know of any other stealth ships attached to the rebel forces? We had to go the ‘slow’ way, of course, to set up for the attack, but once we were there, it was simply a matter of the Empress’s forces opening the gate and firing the missiles through until the missile pods were dry.

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: Well, that definitely was a solid play. So what’s next for the rebels?

M.Mollen: As if I’d give away secrets on an open line! But, honestly, anyone who doesn’t know that there’s going to be a battle in Sol space is a damn fool. How that battle’s going to shape up? No clue.

Anonymous9: Has anyone noticed that Imperial forces all along the borders, except with those around the Confederacy or the Gateways, have basically been stripped to the bones? It is a smuggler’s dream right now, if you’re looking to get goods (or people) in and out of the Empire without official notice.

Backlog: We’re talking about a ton of ships, there. Where did they all go?

Parca: Three guesses, and the first two don’t count.

Backlog: Oh. Oh god, this battle is going to be HUGE!

Anonymous3: You know, depending on how things go, we might walk out of this with the Empire getting conquered if the Confederacy or Imperium start getting in the mood to redress old grievances.

Hullu_Kapteeni: That is part of the reason the Empress is trying to end this quick, and may or may not have opened her own channels to the Confederacy, at least, to ensure that her brother’s bad choices don’t destroy the empire after she’s finished disciplining him.

l44tpally: You say ‘disciplining’, but I’m hearing ‘shooting him until it stops being funny’.

Guardian: Aren’t they the same thing? Remember, this idiot sold himself to the AI for a version of immortality. You can shoot him again and again because the dead horse keeps coming back to life!

M.Mollen: Well, until someone finds and blows up whatever facilities are used to make that happen.

MajorTom: You have a job for us, then?

M.Mollen: Maybe. A few things have been brought to my attention, and some of them will need the special care of the Black Star Marines.

MajorTom: Hoorah.

HaveGunsWillTravel: Boss? What is this message we just got from the offices back on Dimiya?

M.Mollen: Oh, that was just Requiesce-in-Pace giving us a heads up that someone’s decided to take a hit out on me, and they called in the big guns.

Requiesce-in-Pace: A measure of respect given, to show it isn’t personal. Strictly business.

M.Mollen: Yup. Don’t expect me to just lay down and let you kill me, now, but as long as it doesn’t get personal, that’s just part of the game.

MacD: You’re awfully blasé about someone putting a hit out on you.

M.Mollen: Remember who you’re talking to, here. I’ve had people gunning for me since I left Luna, and the numbers have only gotten higher. Travis STILL has a bounty of half a million on my head if someone can bring me to him alive.

Guardian: Fortunately, we have been moving around a lot, so it is hard for bounty hunters and assassins to get a bead on us, which is why I guess he isn’t too worried.

Requiesce-in-Pace: Yes, that was a rather large difficulty when it came to our mission planning. To successfully assassinate someone, you have to be able to either catch up to them, ambush them where you know they’ll be, or force them to come to you. M.Mollen is surprisingly difficult to plan for, even with him being a streamer.

GunKitty: You can’t plan for crazy.

Guardian: True.

Requiesce-in-Pace: Indeed.

M.Mollen: You make it sound like I’m some kind of lunatic.

Bennie: Yes.

HaveGunsWillTravel: Well…

Parca: Have you looked at some of your ‘battle plans’?

AggregatorOfSorrows: Hahaha!

GrimDark: They seem to have your number, M.Mollen.

M.Mollen: Fine, see how that affects things, come bonus time!

ElfMama: Ooh, M.Mollen uses ‘Angry Boss’ attack! It is super effective!

Previous Chapter                                           Table of Contents                                         Next Chapter

Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):

Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT

Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):

Volume 1 - Tutorial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB

Omnibus 1 - Volumes 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354X

Into the Black (Sci-Fi LitRPG):

Book I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL

Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y

City of Champions Online (Superhero LitRPG):

Issue I - Origin Stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SHXQS1

The Kalipshae Affair (A First Contact Short Story): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739V6R6T

Epilogue - Patch Notes 8.X

(A virtual room in NERV HQ)

“Oh FUCK!”

Isaac’s head snapped up as one of the GMs suddenly cursed. They were pretty informal here, when the bosses weren’t around, but an outburst like that was usually a sign that something bad was happening. Given that pretty much 30% of their pre-designed plots had been thrown out because of how the players interacted with the game (not even COUNTING Jagloth), that did not inspire confidence.

The fact that the outburst came from one of the guys he had keeping tabs on what the Emperor and Deus were doing inspired a few other emotions, however.

With a sigh, Isaac said, “What happened?”

The GM looked up from the virtual screen he was studying, and looked a bit sheepish at his outburst. “So, um, just spitballing possibilities here, but what do you think the reaction of the player base would be if someone wiped out all life on Earth in game?’

Isaac blinked, taken aback by that question. “Well, I imagine that there will be people with pitchforks and torches at our door, and there will be all kinds of groups in RL that will be pissed as all hell at us. That’s why we intended for most of the major battles and stuff in wars to be away from species homeworlds.”

A sigh. “Yeah, that’s about what I thought.”

When the GM didn’t expand on that statement, despite Isaac’s expectant look, he cleared his throat, to get the man’s attention back on him. “And why would you be ‘spitballing’ about doomsday scenarios that are sure to get us all in hot water?”

“So, you know how there’s this civil war on? And because of that beta tester, the war suddenly turned against the pro-Travis faction since he helped the Merida faction win a few key battles?”

“Of course I know this! We all know this! We watched the battles here in the control room to make sure that we had a good view of the show… I mean to make sure there wasn’t any cheating going on! Get to the point already!”

“Well, it looks like the in-game AI Deus devised a plan to bolster its numbers before the final battle. The exact nature of what happened on Jagloth wasn’t known publicly until just before the curtain went down on the planet, but the major powers have spies, and Jagloth was a major planet. Seems an Imperial spy snuck some inactive nano off Jagloth before the quarantine was fully established.”

Did someone just turn down the temperature in the virtual room? Because Isaac was certain that it must have dropped about twenty degrees in the last twenty seconds. “Say that again. But without the part where the evil in-game AI overlord we didn’t plan on showing up so early got hold of the one player innovation we have tried our damndest to wipe from the game world in its entirety. Because I know that part can’t be happening. The reason I know it can’t be happening is because then I’d have to call Morgan and tell her I’m going to have to cancel our date while we try and figure out how to keep people from scorching Earth. And that just isn’t happening.”

“Um… well, at least it wasn’t the final version of the nanites. Reading the specs on the nanites, this looks like an early alpha version that the Bastard That Shall Not Be Named developed. The software is cleaner than the Hundherstellar versions that he based it on, so I’d say this was an early attempt at improvement before he figured out how to upload his own neural pattern but after he figured out how to link his minions into an army. And the AI’s been playing with the code and updated the hardware. Looks like it is going in a different design path than the rogue player did.”

“Why is it an early alpha version? Why not the plague version that caused people to wipe out Jagloth?”

“Best guess? The spy got inducted into the Legion not long after, and stopped reporting in.”

“Small mercies, I guess. All right, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to get with some of the programming guys, and dive that nano’s code to see if we’re going to have a problem. If we’re going to have a problem, then we’re going to have to come up with some way to deal with it that doesn’t involve just writing it out of the game, or if we have to patch it out, we do it before it gets to be any bigger a problem.”

Another GM spoke up, “I was running the numbers with the AI while you were freaking out. If it is going to be a problem, then we have two in-game routes to get players involved in taking this mess out, which would make it an Event, which the AI won’t fight us on.”

Isaac looked that way. “That’s what I like to hear! So, what routes do we have?”

“Well, the first one involves having Confederate Intelligence ‘finding’ chatter about it, and alerting people they can use to try and eliminate the nano. With the possibility of a ‘cure’, or at least an inoculation that works to prevent takeover developed by their own labs which are studying the Jagloth plague.”

“Let’s not, and say we didn’t. Also, see if we can arrange ‘events’ to happen to every site researching that shit. I want it to join the ranks of Lost Tech, without any way of ‘finding’ it again. What’s the other play?”

“Well, your favorite Beta tester had his guild raid a top-secret ultra-black Imperial research lab, and they stole the files, as well as a few VIPs. We can slip a ‘breakthrough’ in decoding the research data, and have an inoculation included. He’s already shown he knows how to keep things under wraps, and most of the people involved are either players that know not to destroy the world, or slaves and their families.”

Isaac nodded, the room going back to normal temperature again. “All right. That sounds good. And there’s absolutely no need to tell Morgan about this, because it will all be fixed before she finds out, right?”

The other GMs froze. Isaac was absolutely certain that the temperature just plunged again. “She’s behind me, isn’t she?” Nods answered him.

In icy tones, Morgan said, “Don’t tell me about what, Isaac? What did you do now?”

Slowly, he turned, hands raised in surrender. “OK, first off, it is totally not my fault, and you look very pretty today.”

“Cut the crap, Isaac. What. Did. You. DO?”

Isaac cursed the Bastard Who Shall Not Be Named again, for once more screwing with his life, even from the virtual grave.

Previous Chapter                                       Table of Contents                                          Next Chapter

Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):

Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT

Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):

Volume 1 - Tutorial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB

Omnibus 1 - Volumes 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354X

Into the Black (Sci-Fi LitRPG):

Book I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL

Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y

City of Champions Online (Superhero LitRPG):

Issue I - Origin Stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SHXQS1

The Kalipshae Affair (A First Contact Short Story): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739V6R6T

Chapter 80 - Preparations

(BSS Starlight Raven, Alpha Centauri system)

“That is the plan, Commodore. Unfortunately, before we can make any firm plans on how to assault Sol, we have to have an updated estimate of the enemy forces, and their disposition. Three squadrons of superdreadnoughts spread out across the system defending the outer colonies, Mars, and Earth would be far less of an issue than if all three were concentrated around Earth.”

I nodded at the image of Empress Merida on the screen. “Yeah, I can imagine that’s the case. The Starlight Raven can penetrate the system, and we’ve done it before, but while the Usurper might be an idiot, I doubt that the AI is. They’ll be preparing new defenses, especially against stealthed ships.”

“I know, Commodore, but we have little choice. Your ships are the only ones available that are capable of stealthy approaches and yet still capable of escaping any foes you cannot overcome. It is a weakness I have no doubt that the Navy will be looking at quite intently once the Civil War is done.”

“Very well, and when this is all said and done, don’t be forgetting the payment you promised us. The Black Star Company has plans for after the war, you see.”

“I can imagine. But I still don’t understand why you would need a Nova Eden class colony ship, stocked for a full colonial establishment mission, with slaves as colonists. Those ships, and the galactic FTL comms they carry, are not cheap, you know. And where do you expect me to get six thousand slaves all of a sudden?”

“I could be blasé, and say that would be your problem, but I actually have a few ideas, on that front. There are some ranches in Carceri, for instance, that might get ‘inspected’ for whatever reason, and some stock relocated. Or perhaps some prisoners with skills may get a choice between staying on prison worlds or getting chipped as a slave. And you’re about to have a lot of surplus nobles, assuming they haven’t all been converted to Deus’s drones. You can even hide everything as part of the restructuring you’re going to have to do with so many vacancies at the top opening up.”

“I’ve thought this before, but you’re really quite vicious to your enemies, aren’t you?”

“Eh, I’m capable of showing mercy, sure, but I’ve always found that leaving live enemies behind you tends to just get you shot in the back. I’m just a man, not some kind of god.”

“So, I can rely on you to get the detailed scouting report?”

“Yes, say about two weeks to get there, do a proper survey while under stealth, and get back, with enough room for ‘unexpected difficulties’.”

(Unknown Ship, Unknown place)

The man sighed as he looked at the reports. No two ways about it, they wouldn’t be able to do the job at the shipyards, even if the target was there. Things were simply too well defended there. Which meant that they had to track and find a target that, by now, certainly knew they were coming for him. He’d done the honorable thing when they got the contract for ‘Commodore’ Mollen, but it definitely made their job more difficult.

A woman raised her head from her own reports to look at him. “What’s wrong, Rippy? Decided that ‘crashing a shuttle into it’ isn’t going to work this time?”

“We all knew that was a one-time thing. No, it is more the fact that we’re going to have to find the target before we can execute the contract. The galaxy is a big place, you know.”

The woman nodded. “True enough. And even if we track him down, staying on his tail long enough to do more than a brute force assault is going to be problematic. We’ve already seen how he deals with brute force methods. The footage from his reprisal against those Yakuza in Alpha Centauri is impressive viewing.”

The man leaned back in his chair, and began contemplating the ceiling. “Then you understand our problem. We have to either find some way to lure him into a trap, or find out his itinerary ahead of time and prepare an ambush. He gets much nastier when you threaten to include his people as collateral damage, so we need to find a way to get him alone, or snipe him.”

“Either way, we need set up time, in a place where we know he’ll be, to make this happen.”

“Exactly. But from the footage I’ve reviewed, he’s kept his movements as unpredictable as possible since arriving in game. There’s large portions where if he didn’t have that streaming account, we wouldn’t even know what system he was in, much less what he was doing. So guessing his itinerary is problematic, at best.”

“Hmm. Well, he’s been involved in that whole ‘civil war’ thing, right? If the AI’s forces lose, then there’s bound to be ceremonies, receptions, and all sorts of things going on around Earth. That might be the best time to slip someone in close, either to make the kill, or to act as a spotter for the rest of the team.”

“Yes, that could work. I would say we could try and use a honeypot, but with the harem he’s got going, I doubt that there could be any honey sweet enough to distract him.”

“Well, if the honey on its own isn’t sweet enough, perhaps we add a bit of mental psy to the mix? I’ve got my Mental Psy Mastery up to 20 now, you know. If I get close, I can do the one night stand routine, and take care of it during pillow talk, when he doesn’t have any of his protections up.”

The man grimaced. “I’d feel better doing a standard kill, but that does look like our best bet, since we don’t know where he’ll be, when. Have the pilot set course for Sol. We’ll need to coast into the system before the battle, or we’ll be too late, and have to do this all over again.”

(INS Aureum Throni, Earth Orbit)

Emperor Travis Vaughn knelt before the throne. Some part of him realized that before, HE would have been in the throne, and others would be kneeling before HIM, but what did that matter now? He was in the presence of his god, the living Deus.

“My Lord, I am afraid that it has been confirmed. All contact with Fleet Base Bagthera has been lost. Information coming from sources within the system confirms that the Rebels have taken the base. They used missiles fired through the Gateway and targeted by a stealth ship on the Alpha Centauri side to disable or draw off the defending forces, allowing their fleet through the Gateway.”

The figure on the throne, did not look pleased. Still wearing the ethnic drone body He had worn during their first meeting, Deus looked down at the Emperor, and said, “How many of the Rebel ships did the fleet destroy before they were overwhelmed?”

Travis gulped involuntarily. While he knew he would come back from death, thanks to Lord Deus, that did not mean he enjoyed dying, as he had discovered the first time he earned the Lord’s displeasure. “None, my Lord. There were no enemy casualties. The base commander, Admiral Nimitz, surrendered before the fight could begin.”

“It would seem that your commanders’ incompetence rivals even your own, Emperor. Perhaps I should take steps to induct your older sister into the ‘faith’, hmm? She might bring a bit of actual talent to the running of my new Empire.”

“My Lord!”

“Oh, calm yourself, you pathetic meat bag. Your mewling is beyond vexing. No, your sister has more spine than that. Unlike you, she would most likely prefer to die rather than serve me. Which means that, unfortunately, I must make plans to deal with her, as you and your ignorant ape followers seem incapable of doing that.”

The drone body on the throne paused, considering the situation for a moment. “Very well, there is nothing that can be done about Bagthera now. Call in the defense fleets. Leave the bare minimum on the borders, so that we may crush the rebels when they arrive here. And what of the Fourth, Eighth, and Tenth Fleets? I have lost contact with the Faithful in those fleets, and only one was of sufficient faith to be initiated into the higher orders.”

“My Lord, I have had no reports on those fleets, but they were all stationed along the border with the Ihm Imperium. They were some of our commanders that were less reliable, as they wanted to maintain peaceful relations with the other governments. We sent the Faithful to get information outside of channels in that area, and to spread the Faith.”

“And so they may have already fallen to the Rebels, or joined their cause. You continue to disappoint, Emperor. Perhaps I should give you another session in the Pain Amplifier? I am certain you remember your last visit, yes?”

Travis paled at that thought, and shook his head fervently. “No, my Lord! I have done all you asked! Please don’t send me to the Amplifier!”

“Hmm. Perhaps not. Not yet, anyways. How are the defenses of Sol progressing?”

“Production of new ships is progressing according to schedule. As you commanded, we have been focusing on the smaller ships, primarily corvettes and frigates. Since the Rebellion began, we have commissioned forty-three ships across the Empire, with four of them being superdreadnoughts, five battlecruisers, six destroyers, twelve frigates, and sixteen corvettes. Crews are being rushed into training, however the destruction of the Naval Academy on Luna has left a sizeable gap in the young officers who typically crew the smaller vessels.”

“Make promotions from within the ranks, then. They can be given skill downloads to ensure that they have at least a little skill at their new jobs. And ensure that they are all added to the Faithful. Anyone who gains command of a ship or fleet shall be made into the Faithful, and will be tasked with converting their crews.”

“It shall be done, my Lord.”

“What of the defense and detection grids? The attacks of those stealth ships have shown critical weaknesses in the defenses, should someone know precisely where to hit us. They could destabilize an entire battle if they hit at the right time.”

“The ‘spiderweb’ probes have been steadily going online since the initial attack. Unfortunately, given the amount of space to cover, we have had to limit their scope into creating a smaller ‘shell’ of detection, until we can get the full sphere set up. Even though we limited the shell to only a light-hour away from Earth, that still leaves an area of 14.6 quintillion square kilometers that we must cover. Even with placing the probes a light-minute apart, even that requires over 800 trillion probes. We’ve concentrated along the ecliptic, and launched over 20 billion probes, but that has only given us complete coverage of a light-minute above and below the Ecliptic along the edge of the shell. There is a bottleneck in production, due to competing resources with new ship construction. Even after we added your impressive facilities on Venus, there simply isn’t enough material at hand to make so many probes so quickly.”

Travis took a breath, and continued. “As commanded, the probes are quite stealthy. All of them have a mix of passive and active sensors, though they’re currently deployed in passive only mode. Passive sensors include the normal items, but as you commanded have added gravity sensors, laser links between probes, and light diffraction sensors.”

“Very well. You have, at least, compensated for your pitiful failures adequately in this area. I will postpone your session with the Pain Amplifier for now. Unfortunately, it will likely take too long for the shell to be completed. If the rebels have already seized Bagthera, then they will likely try and attack Sol before long. I want you to speed up the conversion of the populace. Use the new nanite technology our spies acquired from the Confederate planet of Jagloth to start widespread Stage One conditioning.”

“It shall be done, my Lord.”

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