The Outlaw (Phantom Server: Book #2) (18 page)

“Sure. To see Daddy,” she cringed.

“Good. I’m sending you an invitation to join the group.”

“No need to. I join no one.”

“If you wish. I’ll go have a word with the guys.”

* * *

My men had given us some space. They’d taken up positions by the cliffs, keeping an eye on the area.

“I have a proposal to make,” I said. “Firstly, have all your quest chains been updated?”

“Yeah,” Vandal didn't seem overly enthusiastic. “
Help Kathryn to find the artifact capable of creating an oasis of life on board a space station
.”

“The reward
'unknown, varies'
. Is that all right with you?”

“It's probably worth it,” Foggs agreed. “How far to her ship?”

“Three miles as the crow flies. Here's the map,” I forwarded them our new route that led toward the forest and around a hill, then ended in a large clearing.

“She'll sell us out,” Vandal said.

“What makes you think so?”

“Just a gut feeling. There's a catch there somewhere.”

“It's not going to be easy, if that's what you mean. The orbital strikes have triggered mob migrations,” I said, then repeated Kathryn's story about the death of her raid.

“Does that mean this location is now unpredictable?” Foggs asked.

“It is. The plain is the most dangerous area. I hope that the forest isn't as bad; in any case, it'll cover us from flying mobs. I'll try to talk Kathryn into not repeating the same mistake she already made. She should leave the rover where it is and use the ship instead to fly over the location and scan it. If we use the antigrav and fly low, the Dargian artillery might not even notice us.”

“Fair enough,” Vandal agreed. “I'm not looking forward to hiking thirty miles back across the mountains.”

“Count me in,” Foggs said. “It's not as if we have an option. But we need more guns.”

He was dead right there.

I contacted Kathryn. “Meet you at the rover. We need to get some more weapons. The buffs are on you: Intellect and Stamina.”

“No objections to exo, I hope?”

“I don't think so.”

“No problem there, then. Plenty of that stuff lying around.”

“What's your plan?” Foggs asked me as we walked back toward the rover.

“I have a few abilities I want to try,” I opened my characteristics tab and added my two available XP points to Replication.

“And this Stamina buff, is it for you to stay awake? Your metabolic corrector isn't up to it anymore, I suppose. You be careful, Zander. You might regret it.”

“I'll be all right,” I slapped his shoulder. “Thanks, anyway. But we do need some normal guns now, that's for sure.”

We reached the rover. Kathryn handed me a cartridge with some exo. I clicked it into my suit and waited for the metabolites to kick in, then began the replication process. Now I could create four nanite colonies which meant that I could replicate them four times every twenty-four hours.

With a flash, the air filled with Molecular Mist. Kathryn's eyes narrowed in surprise. She probably never heard of this ability before.

I brought a large rag and spread it on the ground. “All the weapons and techno loot, just throw it all down here.”

Foggs and Vandal lay down their recent trophies: the broken Dargian sniper's rifle and two pulse assault rifles, as well as a bunch of modules and spare parts they'd picked up by the rover and inside the Daugoths' lair.

I crouched, scanning them. The Technologists Clan database allowed me to identify most devices, analyze their parts and appraise their usability.

I discovered several electromagnetic boosters, a couple of excellent recoil dampers, a broken gravitech and a pulse control module.

Not bad.

I reached into my inventory for the Founder's Glove I'd picked up back at the space station. My new improved skills now allowed me to understand how to use it.

Kathryn's stare filled with surprise and anxiety. What was she afraid of?

Vandal wheezed, looking over my shoulder.

The three-finger glove didn't fit me. Still, I didn't hesitate to put it on. Kathryn shrank back. The fine fabric began to leak, hugging my wrist and forming a connector, hooking itself up to my suit's micro nuclear battery supply.

Transformation completed. Conditions for the activation of special abilities met.

You've received an item: Modulator.

Class: rare, indestructible.

Permanent effect:

+1 to Intellect

+1 to Learning Skills

+2 to Alien Technologies

+1 to Mnemotechnics

You now have five nanite colonies available for simultaneous use.

-10% off the mnemonic load required for nanobot control.

You are now able to build command sequences. See your Mnemotechnics tab for more details.

My head swam; the back of my neck began to prickle.

Vandal wasn't looking over my shoulder anymore: he too had shrunk back. Foggs paled and tensed up.

Fine strands of energy reached out of my fingers to the pile of junk. Nanites swirled around the broken parts like whiffs of smoke.

I closed my eyes. This way it was easier to focus on the job at hand.

I removed the boosters from two broken Dargian modules. The parts hovered in the air, seemingly weightless, as they heated up. A fine veil of nanites enveloped them. I could hear the quiet crackle of static as the boosters began to transform, acquiring the characteristics I needed. Obeying my mental command, the nanites transported them to the sniper's rifle and installed them.

Next. The recoil dampers.

I felt a scorching heat as the gun's new parts began fusing themselves to the metal, creating new connection ports. The air stank of smoke and ozone as the white-hot nanobots bored themselves into the steel, creating new power and control circuits.

A few minutes later, the opalescent image of the gun turned green. A message popped up,

You've created a unique item: [insert name]

You receive +1 to your Mnemotechnics skill.

You receive +2 to your Technologist skill.

You receive +1 to your Alien Technology skill.

You've received a new level!

You have characteristic points available!

You have skill points available!

You have ability points available!

I breathed a sigh and opened my eyes. My Physical Energy bar was dangerously in the red. I felt exhausted. Still, the result had been worth it: I'd assimilated a Founders' artifact and used it to create a unique weapon.

Kathryn cast wary glances at me. She looked lost. The suspicion in Foggs and Vandal's eyes had given way to curiosity.

I took one look at my creation and gave a tired chuckle. It weighed all of twelve pounds; the new bonded parts looked rather lopsided. It wouldn't win any design prizes for me, that's for sure.

[insert name],
the message kept blinking.

I couldn't think of anything smart.
Tesla-1,
I entered.

Now I could read its stats,

Tesla-1.

Weapon type: pulse rifle.

Rate of fire: 40 round/min

Capacitor recharge rate: 1.5 sec

Damage: 1500

Damage per second: 1000

Burst: not available

Unique. Cannot be repaired or restored.

Durability: 750/750.

“Foggs, try it,” I said.

“What do you want me to shoot at?”

I looked around and saw nothing but cliffs and the remains of the rover. “It's up to you.”

Foggs lifted my creation and raised a surprised eyebrow. He checked the stats but didn't say anything. He took aim.

The shot clapped softly. But its effect made us duck for cover.

A large block of lime had been reduced to a cloud of rubble. The sound resembled a clap of thunder. A bit too loud. At least it didn't have a recoil. It took it one and a half second to recharge its boosters. The gun's barrel rose again. Another shot!

The second round brewed up a cliff about a hundred feet away. Large rocks tumbled down the slope.

Vandal's jaw dropped. “Holy Jesus. Zander, can I have one too?”

“You and I will have to make do with regular ones,” I slapped his shoulder. “I promise I'll make one for you if you wait a little. Kathryn,” I turned to her, “you ready?”

She looked lost. She would probably still boss us around but at least she looked as if she wasn't sure anymore.

“Sure,” she cast me a defiant look, then turned away pretending she was rearranging her gear.

I just couldn’t figure her out.

* * *

Despite our reservations, it took us a couple of hours to get to the forest without incident.

These were truly virgin lands: Nature's own domain untouched by civilization.

As I walked, I practiced with my new built-in bio scanner. I wasn't going to open yet another ability, no: I had my hands full with the ones I already had. Still, the recent Daugoth encounter had alerted me to my Synaps' downsides. I didn't want to be caught off guard again, so I used the opportunity to teach my mind expander to recognize all sorts of little critters.

The weather had marginally improved. The ash covering the sky began to disperse, revealing patches of blue. A dim light seeped from above, illuminating our path.

It had been eleven hours since we'd crashed. Night was about to arrive.

Kathryn strode on. You couldn't surprise her with these levels of physical authenticity. I was quite used to them too. But as for Vandal and Foggs, they began to lag behind. Even metabolites didn't help them anymore.

I contacted her, “Kathryn, I'm afraid we'll have to make a stop. We need a few hours' sleep.”

“We can take a break once we get to the ship,” she responded.

“We're stopping
now
,” I didn't want to let her manipulate me. “You of all people should know that sleep is vital. We've been hiking for almost twenty-four hours.”

“All right,” she grumbled. “Where do you suggest?”

I opened the map and flagged the hill that was on our way.

“You really want to climb it?” she sounded amazed. “Why?”

“Because it offers a good view of the area. If push comes to shove, we'll be in a better fighting position. Also, I think I've seen some ruins on top. I'd like to take a look.”

“Whatever. It's up to you.”

My men seemed very happy with my decision. They doubled their step, re-energized.

The forest enveloped us in its mysterious gloom. The tall shaggy trees didn't stand too close to each other but the undergrowth was quite thick, hindering our passage. We had to force our way through. Luckily, we soon discovered a brook and followed its source, gradually climbing uphill.

The forest along the hill slopes was sparse, its outlines triggering vague old memories. Suddenly the nearest plant was highlighted green. A sign popped up next to it,

Juniper

“Kathryn, do you know these plants?” I asked.

“First time I see them. There's nothing about them in the database, either.”

Did that mean that the game had retrieved one of my subconscious memories in order to identify it? I looked in amazement at the majestic conifers, their trunks gnarly and twisted. They must have been at least a hundred years old.

The location was stunning. Purple moss sprang underfoot, pierced with occasional plumes of pale green grass. Gray and blue expanses of low brambles clung to the ground, their branches heavy with small yellow fruit.

I did indeed discover some ruins overgrown with gigantic junipers. Most had been reduced to their foundations and a few stumps of long-collapsed walls. A massive two-story building made of large roughly hewn stone blocks loomed overhead.

I ran a very detailed scan which detected no technogenic objects. I kept a surreptitious eye on Kathryn who sat down onto a collapsed stone block overgrown with moss and closed her eyes. She looked tired. She didn't seem at all interested in these ruins which Ingmud's map marked as her raid's most likely destination. Could she be faking it, concealing her true feelings under this mask of fatigued indifference?

The sky above had cleared. The sun was setting. A cluster of ash clouds lingered in the distance, seeping a reddish light that cast low sloping shadows.

Vandal climbed the weathered wall to the building's second story and studied his whereabouts, then opened a data sharing channel.