Star Conqueror: An Epic Space Adventure Read online

  Cost: 25 power credits

  Allows for instant transfer of power credits from a disabled power suit to the user

  Equally distributes power credits to assigned squadmates

  Increases base power generation by 1% per 5 minutes

  Passive Upgrade

  * * *

  Well, at least it had a small but functional buff added to it. I wondered at the science of it, realized I had no idea where to start, and moved on. I still had quite a bit left over to spend on bigger, better things, and I knew where to start. With the Ascension tree filled out, it was time to look at the Dragon tree. The two initial options past Dragon Form that I remembered from Star Conqueror were there, glowing green and ready to be purchased.

  * * *

  Dragon Skin

  Cost: 80 power credits

  Provides immunity to physical damage for fifteen seconds

  Power Cost: 20% of maximum

  3 minute cooldown

  * * *

  Dragon Will

  Cost: 140 power credits

  Shatters mental locks and controls on target

  Creates soulbond with target

  WARNING: May cause mental strain, may not be effective against more powerful beings.

  2 hour cooldown

  * * *

  They were both potentially amazing. Still, I only had enough points to get one of them, and if I wanted to move deeper down the Dragon tree, I had to pick one of them. Now, Dragon Skin was a straightforward, easy to use ability, and it was what I had picked in Star Conqueror when I beat the game. I could withstand a physical onslaught, no matter how bad, for fifteen seconds. It was practical and useful, but thanks to my Ascension build, it actually wasn’t that good, especially with the preponderance of energy weapons out here in the galaxy at large. While some of them, like force and gravity weapons did physical damage, a lot of them, like lasers, particle blasters, and plasma guns, did various kinds of energy damage, something Dragon Skin wouldn’t help with.

  That left the other option. Dragon Will was one I’d never actually used because, well, I’d not had the Ascension build before. On top of that, I tended to a more straightforward style of play that lent itself towards Dragon Skin. Now though? Now, it seemed like a great option even if it would leave me with only twelve credits.

  While the whole ‘breaking mental bonds and controls’ sounded interesting, it was the whole ‘soulbonding’ thing that caught my attention. I knew how it worked in Star Conqueror, at least from developer updates about the inclusion of the Dragon tree. Dragon Will was an in-game ability that let you permanently charm an NPC unit to be friendly to you and join your squad for the duration of the mission. There were various unknown factors that affected whether it would work and what power level cap of target you could try to use it on. All of that contributed to why I didn’t use it in the game, but now? Here? It was tempting.

  Maybe Tulip would know more. I again refocused my eyes, looking past the HUD to see the catwoman, fully entranced by the multiple trees she had open on her tablet. I couldn’t help but notice they were labelled Hacker, Gunslinger, and Fertish Shifter. That alone raised a whole other round of questions, but first things first.

  “Tulip?”

  No answer.

  I raised my voice a little. “Tulip?”

  Still, her eyes were glued to her screen.

  “Tulip!”

  She almost jumped out of her skin. “Oh, sorry,” she cried sheepishly. “I was crunching numbers and looking at my options and … uh … got a little caught up in it.” Despite her embarrassment, she had that happy look of a dedicated Star Conqueror player working out her build.

  That made me smile.

  She glanced at the ceiling. “So, uh, what did you need, David?”

  My original question came back to me as she grinned. “Hey, I wanted to ask you about this ability called Dragon Will. It states I can break mental locks and controls, then soulbind that same target. Do you know what that means exactly? I mean, I kind of know what that does from the game, but I don’t think it works the same here. It’s vague and the warning text is even vaguer.”

  “Whoa, mind and soul magic,” Tulip gasped. “That’s some crazy stuff. I didn’t even know humans could learn such things.”

  I shook my head. “Well, it’s not for my human side. It’s an ability for my dragon form.”

  “Oh, dragon magic! That’s a different story.” Tulip scratched at her own ear. “I don’t know much about that beyond the myths and legends of the old days, but there is a particular tale about a dragon that didn’t even need to fight his opponents. He simply joined their souls to his, turning enemies into friends.”

  “That’s fascinating,” I murmured softly. “Do you think there’s any truth to that myth?”

  Tulip smiled as she glanced back down at her tablet. “We brought back the ancient dragons by following those legends, and the proof is right before my eyes. From what I’ve seen today, I have no reason to doubt the truth of those tales.”

  I could hear the conviction in her voice. If I took her at face value and the rest of the warning text didn’t trip me up, Dragon Will would be insanely powerful. More importantly, it assuaged one of my worries about using a power like that for real. I certainly couldn’t fight the Matriarchy for dominating their citizens if I started mentally controlling people myself … but make them my friends? Yeah, it was the old ‘hearts and minds’ strategy, and it was a classic.

  I selected Dragon Will. I still had until I hit ‘confirm’ to think it over, and there wasn’t anything else in the Dragon tree that I could afford. Time to see what I could do with my remaining twelve power credits.

  With a five-minute cooldown on my dragon form, I needed to be in my normal form as well. Even with the immense power of the dragon, there was no guarantee that a battle would be over in three minutes or less, and there was no guarantee on the battlefield that fights would be conveniently spaced out by five-minute rest breaks. Best to be ready for all situations.

  I pulled up the Assault tree and looked at what I had open. One was the core activated ability of the tree, and the other was an option off of Remote Transfer:

  * * *

  One Shot, One Kill

  Cost: 10 power credits

  Once activated, all weapon damage is increased by 200% for 5 seconds

  Power Cost: 2% of maximum

  2 minute cooldown

  * * *

  Second Chance

  Cost: 10 power credits

  An emergency battery will store a reserve of 10% power.

  This extra power will automatically be used when your suit power reaches 0%

  5 minute cooldown

  Passive Upgrade

  * * *

  Both sounded useful, but it wasn’t much of a choice for me. One Shot, One Kill only affected actual weapons and I knew from the game that didn’t include the natural claws, teeth, and flames of my dragon form. While I’d have to get it eventually to open the broader Assault tree up, for now, Second Chance was the way to go. The ability to keep going even after I drained the tanks was a perfect fit for my brute force approach.

  I glanced at the grayed-out options and tried to plan ahead a little bit. I would really need to invest in power regeneration upgrades. While the Ascension build helped maximize power usage by bundling so many actives into one strong passive, there were more critical things in the real world that drained power than in the game, especially environmental hazards. This really was a trek across alien worlds, and I couldn’t afford to ever run dry since no power meant no life support.

  Nodding to myself, I eyed the confirmation button. The moment it went through, I could feel a subtle rush of power through my body. Nerves twitched, muscles tensed, and a new meter popped up underneath my main power readout, marked ‘Second Chance Reserve’. When the sensation passed, the endorphin rush lingered.

  “Intense,” I murmured to myself as I looked up at Tulip. She was smiling at me, app
arently having made her choices, and had her guns back at the ready. “Okay, let’s move out.”

  13

  We headed down the sewer, following the route Tulip had mapped out for us. While we seemed to be relatively safe, I still kept my eyes peeled as I took point. As we passed each manhole cover and took each blind turn, I had my rifle at the ready, prepared for something to jump out at us. Still, we hadn’t seen or heard anything yet, and our plan seemed to be holding strong.

  After those few minutes, with nothing but splashing sewage to keep us company, I relaxed enough to come back around to a question that had been skulking around at the back of my head for a bit. Still keeping my eyes forward like a good Marine, I asked, “So, Tulip, I know you didn’t have a real hand in designing the suits, but … I’ve got a question or two I wanted to throw your way about them.”

  Tulip’s hand ran down my shoulder. “I’ll do my best to answer any questions. The more you know, the more likely we’ll succeed.” She let out a purring giggle. “Besides, while I may not have helped design these things, I’ve used them for years, plus I did help with some of the coding. I am the best hacker in the galaxy.”

  I smiled at her touch but kept my focus. “And modest too.”

  “That’s my best quality, I’ll have you know,” she added with another soft laugh. “So, what were your questions?”

  I picked my way around a particularly nasty bit of sewage and the rotting corpse of an alien, well, it had definitely been a mammal. Thank God for air filtration.

  Taking a deep breath, I continued, “Right. Well, I suppose my biggest question is do the upgrades I buy with the suit carry over when I’m not in it? Not all of them, obviously, because some deal with the suit itself, but …”

  “Oh, you’re talking about, say, your dragon form or my own shapeshifting, right?” Tulip’s voice perked with understanding. “Again, I don’t fully understand the science of it, but these power suits serve as a conduit, you could say, not only providing protection and weapons and all that, but providing an active link between the power credits that fuel it and each wearer’s innate talents.”

  With how quiet it was, I shifted position, moving to walk beside her. She smiled at that as I said, “So, I’m guessing that’s why you have different upgrade trees than I do? The suit is adapting to your natural abilities and limits?”

  “Oh, David!” She gave me a seductive wink. “Were you peeking at my upgrade screen when I had it open?”

  “I would peek at a lot more if it was open.” I cleared my throat with a grin. “But that’s not what we’re talking about.”

  Tulip laughed, and my grin grew. You’d think we were crazy, but sometimes, even when you were at war, you had to find an outlet, or you’d go nuts. As her laughs dwindled, she nodded. “Yes, that’s why we all have different upgrade trees. That’s what we based the class options for Star Conqueror on, various packages based on the trees that the suits unlocked in Resistance members, then extrapolated the dragon abilities from the tales and legends we had passed down.”

  “Your research paid off,” I said with an appreciative nod. “Most of what I’ve been able to see has been about spot-on, but I guess I should be ready for a surprise or two in the future. So, if this is the case, does that mean what I think it means?”

  “Oh, right, the actual question!” Tulip nodded. “Yes, it means that many of the upgrades that the power suit enables are changes to you, the you in the suit. For instance, my entire Fertish Shapeshifter tree is usable without the suit, and quite a few of my Gunslinger and Hacker upgrades too, though they need, well, guns and computers obviously.”

  She stopped and turned to face me, prompting me to do the same, arching an eyebrow. “Which means that the dragon isn’t in the suit.” Her hands stroked down my shoulders before she rested them lightly on my chest, feline eyes gazing up at me. “The dragon is you, David. That’s a special thing, something I believe will change the universe, even if the prophecy didn’t say so.”

  I put my hands over hers, smiling down as her honest belief reinforced my own. “I won’t be doing it alone, Tulip.”

  She blushed and smiled at my sentiment. “No, you won’t. I’ll be right by your side the whole way.” She laughed a little and slipped away. “Turner too, even if he isn’t literally right here.”

  I shared that laugh and turned back to our path. As much as I looked forward to that time when we’d be reunited with Turner again, I was enjoying this time alone with Tulip without being shot at. “Well, as much as I want to linger and just, well, talk,” – there was a lot more I wanted to do but … sewers, am I right? – “we don’t want to keep the big guy waiting too long. He’ll get worried about us and who knows what he’ll decide to blow up on his way to find us?”

  Tulip fell back in formation behind me as she counted off on her fingers. “He’ll start with the surrounding area, then he’ll nuke the arcology, then try to find some way to blow the planet into dust.” She patted me on the back. “So, yeah, we better get on with this before he gets going.”

  We dropped into a companionable silence from there, sloshing through the muck and filth for another kilometer or so. As we progressed, the sewer tunnels became more advanced and well-maintained. Ancient concrete turned to a smooth, white superalloy tube, and the soft sounds of some kind of pumping system filled the air. Small sluice gates would open occasionally, sending controlled streams of waste into the main tunnel. It was, well, it was as clean as any kind of sewer system could be.

  “Looks like we’re in Matriarchy territory now,” I said aloud. I unslung the Arclight Double and gave it a once over. “Unless they suddenly decided to upgrade the slums.”

  “I don’t suspect they would.” Tulip nodded, returning her pistols to the magnetic clamps on her thighs and unslinging the sleek black Stinger Elite rifle. As I quirked an eyebrow at that, she smiled. “Lasers might not have a physical damage vector, but they’re near silent and great for pinpoint shooting. We’ve got the stealth advantage back, so I’ll do my best to keep it.” She patted one of her pistols lovingly. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring out the girls when the time’s right.”

  Nodding, I glanced at the map readout of my HUD, then up at the pearly white shaft that went upward. At the edge of my vision, I could see the glint of the sewer entrance, glossy and black, while an automated track the width of a ladder whirred away, black rungs attached to it. It was like a vertical people mover. All you had to do was hang on and up you went.

  “Speaking of stealth,” I said as I glanced back at Tulip, “go up first and see if there’s any security on the sewer hatch. The longer we can stay off the security net, the better. I’ll be right behind you.”

  She nodded. “You got it, David.” Crouching low for a moment, she sprang lightly upward, clearing half the tube, at least ten meters, in one bound, before effortlessly grabbing onto one of the moving rungs.

  In my fully human form, I couldn’t match that, but with the small fraction of the dragon’s power I always had, I still managed to get a three-meter high jump, pretty impressive if I say so myself. Latching on to one of the rungs, I managed to get my feet into one of the lower ones and kept my rifle aimed upward, just in case.

  Tulip made it to the top a good minute ahead of me, which made the automated track stop. Probably a safety feature to keep someone from being thrown off the rungs at the top. “Sorry, David,” she called down at me. “I should have this open by the time you get up here.” She had used the universal magnets on Matriarchy weapons to stick the Stinger to the wall and was pulling the tablet off of her wrist.

  I grunted an affirmative as I slung my rifle and climbed old-fashioned style. Better than a day at the gym, for sure. Up above, Tulip mounted her tablet on the black metal lid above and began tapping at it with her free hand, soft chirps echoing down the tube as she hacked away.

  It didn’t take me long to catch up to Tulip. Just as she said, it wasn’t a second after I got there that she let out a little, “Y
es!” The lid let out a pressurized hiss, mechanical clanks filling the still air as locks and security countermeasures deactivated.

  As she collected her gear, tablet going back to her forearm and rifle into her free hand, she glanced down at me, speaking through the comms to keep down any errant noise. “We’re through. I put a Stutter Virus into the security net right above, so we have a minute or two to get out and clear.”

  I had never delved into the Hacking tree in Star Conqueror (I had the in-game Tulip for that, after all), but I was familiar enough to know what ability she was using. A Stutter Virus would put all the security devices within a short radius into a rapid, on-and-off pattern, faking an actual electrical issue. Pretty much everything that happened in the area would be off the scanners, only an indistinct blip or two coming through during the brief moments the systems were online.

  “Then let’s go!” I grinned.

  Tulip smiled and simply looked up. With a final hiss of hydraulics, the lid slid away, letting shafts of the muddy red sunlight shine down on us. She slipped up silently, and with a deep breath, I pulled myself up after her.

  14

  It was a night and day difference from one side of the curved white walls and the other. Outside the walls, the city had been ruined slums, crumbling warehouses, and Ar’abi barely scraping by. Here, though, the aesthetic, the technology, the architecture, hell, the very air was different. If I didn’t know better, I would have said we had walked through a hyperspace tunnel in that sewer and wound up on an entirely different planet.

  Swooping structures reached for the sky, all gleaming white stone and golden metal, putting us in a shadowy back alley. If there was a speck of dust anywhere, well, I couldn’t see it, probably the result of the little scrubber bots that were currently spasming around us from Tulip’s Stutter Virus. More annoyingly alien was the fact that the ‘street’ we were on wasn’t flat or made of stone or dirt or anything normal. The road itself was a curved strip of white, well, something, almost like some spongy rubber, entirely rounded edges that curled up to the sides of the buildings around us. Small, slit-like gutters were cut into the road to account for the heavy storms this equinox town had to experience.