Making the Grade (Omnia Online Series Book 2) (11 page)

“Right now the company funds are dropping down near 5000 credits.  So we’re looking to take on work so that we can restock the ship with everything the Jinx needs.  By the way, the ship is named High Jinx.  In fact, I just decided that’s what you’re going to be doing today.” said Drake, changing his plans on the spot.

“Do you have a pass for the tube-way?  No?  Then we’ll buy one for you, we can’t be spending money on taxi’s all the time, at least not until we can build up some surplus funds.”

Drake then headed down to the tube-way under the Guild Hall and purchased a pass for his new crew member.  Then they took a capsule to the Spaceport and from there walked to the High Jinx.

While on the way to the ship, Fiona said, “Five thousand credits sounds like a lot of money to me.  My one-way token on the tube-way this morning was only half a cred. If you have five thousand, you could use the tube-way for life; so why are you worried about paying for a taxi?”

“You’ll see.  What you’re going to do today is go through the ship from the cockpit to engineering and even the cargo half deck.  Your job will be to take note of every consumable and piece of non-attached equipment on the ship and log it with Samantha so that we know just what supplies we need to buy.  This will also be a great way for you to learn your way around.” said Drake, thinking that she would probably know High Jinx better then he would once she was done.

“Once you're done with making the list, which could take you a couple days, you’ll then see just how much it takes to keep a ship ready to fly.  Sound good?” Drake asked.  He just dumped a load of work on Fiona, but she was smiling like he’d given her an early birthday present.

“Good, something real to do on my first day.  I’ll show you how good a worker I can be.” The young girl bubbled with enthusiasm.

“Oh, and one more thing.  We’re looking for any information about a contract we plan on taking soon.  So in your free time, see if you can help Samantha with that, ok?” said Drake.

Fiona’s eyes lit up, and Drake could swear that if she had lips instead of a beak, she would be grinning as well as bouncing with energy.  What was the hackneyed phrase,
‘as giddy as a school girl’? 
Or maybe in her case, it should be flighty?  Fiona seemed to exemplify the expression, but he imagined that the newness would soon wear thin.

Actually, Drake still had his moments when just being in Omnia still made him a little ‘giddy’ too.

“There’s one important bit of information we need today if possible.  Try to find out what happened to the Dwarf fellow we took prisoner.  The people at the clinic seemed all fired up to get him moved to another location fast.” said Drake.  This was something that had been on his mind all night.  The prisoner was the only real lead he had to what was going on in the populated area south of the city.  

With Fiona’s work set out for her, and useful work at that, Drake could get back to his regular training for the day.

“Oh, Samantha, cancel that training room, will you?  I imagine we still have to pay for it, though?” asked Drake.

“Yes, the room was paid in advance to reserve the spot.  I’ll let the guild know we won’t be using it.  But, unless someone else takes the room, we’re out 60 credits we prepaid.” she replied.

Drake hated to waste the credits, but he felt this was the better plan, at least for today.

After getting to the High Jinx, Drake had Samantha grant Fiona access to all parts of the ship she would need to complete her task.  Samantha would keep a close eye on the girl, and Drake could see if she was one of those people who could do a chore without supervision (other than Samantha).

Drake locked himself into High Jinx’s cabin and logged out of Omnia.

***

That same morning, as Drake exited Omnia and became Kevin once again in his Omnia Game room, he had a question to ask Samantha that had been on his mind for some time now.

“Samantha, I’ve noticed that in the time since I’ve had the game pod, that my sexual libido has been very active, it’s been almost like having a second puberty.  Can you tell me why I’ve felt that way, and why today I seem to notice that my mind wasn’t as distracted by sexual thoughts as before?” asked Kevin.

“I’ve been monitoring your body and mind since you started using the game pod, Kevin.  Yes, since you entered the game pod your body and mind have been subject to a higher than average level of growth, which had the side effect of releasing more hormones into your body then you’re used to.  Your level of testosterone had increased even further as your genetic enhancements came into play. 

But now, your body is starting to stabilize at a new level, and you should start to feel a bit more normal.  Your body will produce more testosterone than it used to, but not nearly as much as you’ve been feeling for the last two months.” said Samantha.

“I wish you’d said something to me about it before, Samantha.” Kevin admonished her.

“I thought about telling you. I weighed both the possible negatives and positives, along with the restrictions on what information I can give you. I then decided that since there was nothing you could do but ride out the changes, I would just have to do my best to support you through the process,” replied Samantha.

“Is that what you’ve been doing?  If you control my body and mind so much in the pod, then why did I have to feel so much change and umm… excitement?” asked Kevin.

“I can change many things, but I cannot, and am not allowed to alter your emotions or thoughts.  So I just did my best to try to find ways to relieve your stresses,” replied Samantha.

Kevin thought,
‘Damn, but she can be pretty clinical at times.’

“Ok, what’s done is done… but it’s done, right?” asked Kevin.

“You have a new plateau, so even though you’ll slowly continue to grow stronger as you exercise, don’t expect to feel as strong an urge to have sex with every female you meet.  Your testosterone level is naturally higher now, but since it’s lower than what you’ve had to deal with for the last eight weeks, you should actually feel quite close to your old self now.  If you decided to get a higher level of genetic treatment, expect to encounter another period of adjustment.” said Samantha.

“Something I noticed tonight, though, I seemed to have an easier time focusing my mind.  Is that related to the lower level of hormones?” asked Kevin.

“More than likely, if your hormones aren’t causing your brain to fire off in ways that are distracting, like thoughts of sex, then yes, you should be able to concentrate better.” she replied.

Kevin thought,
‘Well shit, I’m not going to castrate myself just for a little more psionic control, so I’ll just have to live with the occasional distraction.’

“Well, it’s another couple hours to lunch, so lets’ get some training in.  By the way, what did you think about what Allacia revealed concerning the problem to the south?” asked Kevin as he made his way to the training room.

“It seems the assignment has your curiosity stirred, Kevin.  So it looks like we’re going to take on the challenge, no matter what I think.  But if what Allacia said was true, then at least you shouldn’t be fighting the local power structure to get the job done.  That’s as long as the militia doesn’t actively interfere.” said Samantha.

“How much did the rancher’s raise, to pay for the assignment?” Kevin asked.

“The contract is for 3100 credits plus reasonable expenses, but they limited the amount of expenses to an additional 600 credits.” said Samantha.

“Wow, just one of the bounties I collected two months ago paid out more than that.  Still, I think your right, the unanswered questions are bothering me, just what is going on, and why… Yes, tomorrow after I log into Omnia, I’ll register to accept the rancher’s contract, provided the terms are acceptable…”

“So let’s get started, Sam.  Should I start with a repeat of my morning routine, or can we just skip to the flight training?”  Kevin asked in a hopeful tone, he knew his virtual coach too well to think that she would let him skip out on his physical training, though.

“You’re not getting off that easy boy, hit the deck and get to work.” She said, in a tone that contained an odd mix of both humor and command.

So Kevin got back to training, which would be mostly physical, until lunch but did include some tumbling exercises.  Kevin had taken a class in tumbling as a kid and used to really dislike the feeling of having his world spinning around him when he tried to do a cartwheel or a roll.  This time, his gymnastics class didn’t cause the dizziness he felt as a child.  Which left him wondering if the genetic alterations might have fixed something in his inner ear since the training didn’t bother him nearly as much? 

This in turn cause Kevin to remember how he looked the last time he got out of the game pod… and how his understanding of the technology that Intelecom had been using had changed.

Kevin stopped in the middle of his tumbling exercises and asked Samantha a question.

“Sam, just how much has the game pod changed my body?” Kevin wanted to know.

“There has been no change to your body that you didn’t ask for, and worked for in your training, Kevin,” Samantha responded.

Her answer sounded invasive to Kevin.

“Again Sam, please answer me fully.  Just how much has my body changed since I first got in the game pod?” asked Kevin.

“I’m afraid I’m not permitted to answer your question the way you’re asking it, Kevin,” replied Samantha. “As I’ve said before, there are limits placed on me, and so I can’t be completely open with you on this subject.”

“Is it day or night outside the game pod?” asked Kevin.

“It’s the middle of the night, and Sarah is asleep in your bed.”  Now usually that phrase would have brought a series of distracting thoughts to Kevin’s mind, but he was far more interested in finding out just what Intelecom was up to.

“Open the game pod, Samantha.”

***

Kevin’s world flickered out, and he was suddenly looking up at the top half of the game pod being pulled away.  He took off the mask covering his face and looked down at his naked body.

His muscles looked far more developed than when he was last out of the game. 

Before doing anything else, he looked over to his bed.  That was one thing about a studio apartment; it was all one room, except the restroom.  So he could see the bottom part of Sarah’s body on his Queen sized bed.

She wasn’t moving, and Kevin could hear her breathing and soft snoring.  She had a sort of soft feminine snore that Kevin found to be cute and amusing.  But he was relieved that he didn’t startle her into waking up.

Kevin didn’t get up out of the game pod, but relaxed and opened his mind, just like he did in the game, to try to find that psionic energy that Allacia calle
d
ruah. 

It was there, just like in the game.  Fuck.

Kevin’s world had just changed in ways he wasn’t yet prepared to understand.

He pushed out his ruah, just like he did in training and sensed the area around him.  He could reach out just a little more than six meters with his senses; this was just enough reach to detect both Sarah and the couple next door, all of them asleep in their beds.

That surprised Kevin, wow, just how intrusive could someone skilled in psionic sensing and telepathic listening be.  Kevin was sure that he wouldn’t want to live near someone who could just mentally peek in on his personal life, especially if he was intimately engaged.

He would need to think about finding a place to live that had more personal space in the future.  And that was just the smallest of the ways his real life was going to have to change.

His world had changed, and he would have to learn to adapt… And where was the best place to learn what he needed but back in the game pod.  It would help if Samantha could open up with him, though.

Kevin looked around once more before closing the game pod to reenter his virtual home.

Sarah seemed to have made herself at home in the week and a half real time that had passed since he was last out of the pod.  He noticed that she left a bathrobe hanging next to the pod, which he felt was thoughtful.  And the place was both clean and had a strange, but more feminine feel to it.  He couldn’t say just what it was, the way the kitchen towel, hung from the refrigerator door, or that there was now a plant in the window, but it definitely had the feel of a place where a woman, rather than a man lived.

Maybe it should have bothered Kevin more that he’d been replaced in his own home, but it didn’t.  For him, the time he’d been away felt like two months with the way the game accelerated time.  So he felt two months removed from this apartment, even though it still had all of his personal belongings inside.

Kevin put the mask back on, and as quietly as possible he closed the top of the game pod.

***

Kevin reappeared in his virtual training room; Samantha was nowhere to be seen.

He left the room; she wasn’t in the kitchen or living room.

“Samantha, appear now and take a seat on the couch, we need to talk.” commanded Kevin.

Samantha appeared on the sofa wearing a teddy, a pink, very thin, lacy thing.  Which almost distracted him, he was sure he would have been distracted a few weeks ago.