Universe Online - Enter the Game: Complete Edition (18 page)

Just fucking crazy. I love it.

'I'm happy you've been having fun. Just make sure to use your Aspects wisely. The system is really complex, but you get better bonuses by thinking them out nicely.'

“Heh. Thanks for worrying about me. On the other hand, what about you? Are you fucking crazy! A new, unseen race, severe penalties, and starting in an abandoned space station?! Karren told me about your quest. Holy shit man. A+ only days after the launch? I've never heard of a situation like that.”

Gah. Karren really did let a bunch of stuff slip there; but that's how hospitals work for you. It’s all gossip with large dollops of stress-relieving sex and the occasional crisis and emotional trauma. But just like Karren, James here basically works for me. So I don't mind it too much.

'It gets even better. There are only about two thousand Drune Rex still alive. The Drex bombed the planet into a radioactive waste some five hundred years ago in-game. I have to rescue the survivors and everything. It’s a very big task. And I'm on the other side of the galaxy from the other starting locations.'

My electronic words seem to shake the big man, but he shakes his head with another wry grin.

“You always get into the craziest of shit, Allec. It’s like that midnight raid you led in Total Rule with only twenty people against the Lich Lord. Just like then, you're making news, ya know?” James seems to be at a loss and more than a little awed. He's a good guy, but his competitive streak in the games tend to keep him from working well with groups that cannot put up with it.

Which is really too bad, because he is damnably competent. Usually with warrior-healers or paladin-like classes or character builds. A brute force fucker with a large shield and healing spells ready to go. The perfect mid-line battle tank and support.

Even I've played with him a bit.

'Well, I'm just always more than willing to throw myself into difficult situations. You know that. Anyway, I'll probably need your help in Universe Online one of these days. I have an entire battle station as my salvage, and it'll require thousands of crewmen of all trades. A trained doctor or medic would be a great help there.'

I get to watch his face light up like a Christmas tree. It’s a great look on the big man.

“Hahaha. I'll definitely see about doing that, if or when you find a way to connect the place with the rest of the galaxy. Even the Jump Gates don't have a range that'll connect all the way to the other side of the galaxy, you know.

“Oh, that's another thing. Individual ships use warp drives in most cases as their Faster-than-Light method; but their range is limited due to fuel consumption and power usage. Over vast distances Jump Gates are used. But there's also talk about other tech. It mostly goes over my head, but keep it in mind. You really are too far away for any of us to get anywhere near you in a reasonable time frame.”

'I figured it was something like that. So far I've only explored a small part of the station I started in, and my only usable ship is a mining Tug. I have it set on auto-pilot right now, actually. Going to Drune to help those people.'

James nods to my words, and finishes feeding me my meal. Like me, he also has a habit of accepting NPC's as 'people' and not just programs. I'm one of the few people he actually gets along with in-game.

After that, he cleans me up a bit and then helps me lay back in the Dive Pod. I've only been gone about forty minutes, but that's a long enough time to make me worry. Several hours in-game have passed, after all.

“Just try not to get yourself killed, okay? The double penalty you got is really going to suck.” James says as I hook up again in a comfortable position.

'Don't worry, I don't plan on dying any time soon. Just watch as I save an entire race of people this time. Ha ha.'

I really cannot laugh properly, but oh well. He chuckles and I close my eyes.

-Dive Begin-

-|- -|- -|-

I wake up and everything seems to be alright. It was like I had just dozed off. I sit up and look around, spotting one of the monitors in the living area of the tug that's being updated with information from the ship’s computer.

We're on track and on course. Looking good. I've only been gone about three hours. That's good. But that also means that I have another nine hours to go before I reach orbit. It really takes a long time to move around in space, even at thousands of miles per hour. Far enough away, it would look as if the tug is standing still against the backdrop of the stars.

It is arguably the perfect time to do some other stuff I've been putting off. Mainly skinning myself out of the space and mechanical suit. So I keep my seat on the bed and do that. I'm actually a little surprised that I am wearing skin-tight fitted clothing underneath. Some sort of smooth silk garments that are as slippery as latex when I touch them. Hm. Nifty.

It’s like the clothing that divers use underneath their latex waterproof suits. Neoprene, I think its called. Mine is just a much more modern piece of tech. Hehe.

After removing the suit, I find myself feeling quite nice. I never really realized that it had rubbed me raw in some places, or how stiff it was in the legs or upper torso area.

But I definitely notice the differences very quickly. For one thing, all of my physical stats have dropped greatly. Which means I have 3 in each attribute instead of 30. I slow down, my motions become jerky, and even the 30% gravity starts to feel heavy on my limbs. I grimace and simply suck it up.

It'd probably feel a lot worse with higher gravity. It is an experience I am not looking forward to.

I do have enough strength to stand up jerkily, and disconnect the mechanical suit parts from the space suit, laying the pieces out on the bed neatly before taking the space suit to the closet. I'd discovered earlier that it has a washing and drying function, which is really handy out in space. I store it in the rack, close the door, and turn it on to give the suit a good cleaning.

While that's working, I turn back to the bed, looking over all the pieces of the mechanical support suit. It has metal supports and small motors and all sorts of parts and straps. As it stands, I could wear it on my flesh and it'd give me the same bonuses it did while being on the space suit.

But I don't do that, and instead pull out some of my tools. It’s time for some overdue TLC! I also take the opportunity to check out all the parts while I clean and perform simple repairs and maintenance. The mechanical suit is controlled by a box that has the built-in computer, batteries, and some of the most complex motors in the thing. When worn, it is set in the middle of the lower back, just above the waist and hips; where there is arguably the most amount of motion required by the body.

Bending over, twisting side to side, stretching out in various angles. It all requires complex systems to support the full range of motion of the body by mechanical means. I open it up, VERY carefully, and check out its insides; cleaning it up before putting it back together again.

Then I take it upstairs to the ship’s computer, and plug it in to check out the software. And I end up being surprised, again. Tens of thousands of lines of code. Hundreds of individual programs. It’s much, much more than what the bots had.

I quickly realize that the core in my hands could be used for a lot more than just a simple mechanical skeleton. It has programming that'd make it compatible with marine power armor, exoskeleton suits, and heavy powered suits as well. Wow.

Of everything I own, this core is probably the most valuable piece of tech I have. I cannot help but grin. It has opened up an entire universe of ideas and customizable potential for me! Hehehe.

I end up saving a copy of the entire memory into the ship's computer, in case anything happens then disconnect it before making my way back down into the living area. It’s slow going, but my speed is boosted a bit with my movement Aptitudes and their linked Aspects. That's something I'd done almost as soon as I created the character.

Actually checking them, I find that I actually make greater gains in movement experience without the suit on. The penalties must cause a greater bonus. I'll have to keep that in mind for later. I definitely need some real physical training; although it isn't the muscles that are bad. It’s the bones.

Weak bones are really hard to fix, especially given that it’s a genetic trait, and not something like malnutrition. Regular exercise and meals simply won't cut it. I actually wonder why the Drune Rex never resorted to genetic manipulation to fix the problem.

Even in the real world, that sort of thing is becoming progressively more common to fix a wide variety of defects or abnormal traits in people of all ages. At least for small things. As for ALS, it’s such a complex problem that it will takes years and years for the research to catch up and finally fix it. I'll probably be long dead before that happens.

Back to the here and now though, I reassemble the mechanical suit then go and check on the space suit. It’s already done, which is nice. I pull it out of the washing-closet and lay it out, checking for any problems before reconnecting it to the mechanical suit. After that, I sit down and clean myself up. I use the damp wipes, and sigh as the sweat and grime of my toils is washed away.

Aaaah, I'm refreshed!

“It’s hard to realize that you haven't been clean in days until after you've finally jumped into a bath.”

Yes, I'm talking to myself again, get over it!

Too bad there isn't a shower or a bathtub in the tug, though. That'd be divine! I'll have to see about building one soon; although water in space is really freaking cold unless heated beforehand. Just another thing that takes power.

Anyway, I clean up, re-don my suit, and breath out in satisfaction as the penalties are removed and I'm able to move properly again! The experience reminds me far too much of my real life issues. I purse my lips at the thought before sighing. There's no real helping it.

I grab my helmet and go back up to the cockpit, strapping myself into the pilot seat while I check on the systems. So far, so good. I still have plenty of power, fuel and the life support is fully functional. Everything looks good.

I don't take the manual controls again though. Instead, I pull up the two guides I'd previously found. Aah, reading materials. How I missed thee.

I go back over the Basic Tug Guide just to memorize as much as I can before turning to the other Guide. Space Survival.

I open it up and dive right in.

Most of it is rather bland though, to be honest. Technical points about moving in zero-gravity, basic steps to find and store air, water and food in hostile environments. Some tips on programming computers and how to build space-resistant shelters with only basic materials. Most of it is what I've already done or have figured out while out on my own.

Some things are glaringly obvious, too.

But then, there are idiots all over the place. Even in space, which is kind of sad, to be honest.

Even I've derped here and there over the years, though, so I'm not really qualified to cast stones.

The Guide though does have a lot of good information and tips, which can be used with simply living in space, more so when you're alone and forced to simply survive. The back third of the guide also includes detailed schematics on how to build things like solar panels and how to repair space suits and equipment and computers that are in various stages of ruination. It doesn't outline any one single scenario though, so it’s all laid out to be useful for a variety of situations.

Very helpful, actually.

And five hundred years out of date, but beggars cannot be choosers, right?

It takes me nearly four hours to read it from cover to figurative cover though, and during that time I eat a meal of rations and drink a bit of water. By the time I put it away, I'm already spent eight hours in traveling, and am more than ready to get it over and done with.

Time is ticking! Tick tock, tick tock!