Star Conqueror: An Epic Space Adventure Read online

  I knew that Phil thought in his little brain that if we did go to his office, even if it made perfect sense, it would be a victory for me. No. This jerk-off couldn’t have that. Couldn’t act professional.

  In a way, I had been expecting this for a while. This situation had been building for weeks now. Ever since we’d had that meeting with the owner, he’d been trying to find a way to get rid of me. It wasn’t my fault I was better than him at the actual job of being an IT technician, which was a problem for Phil.

  In his eyes, he was the head chief, the master of the ship, and the dick head in charge in his little corner of Inetect. And to a man like that, I was a threat, no matter the truth of the matter. Add to that Phil’s ability to ingratiate himself to management and his utter disregard for the well-being of others. Most of the people in the department were scared of him and scared to lose their jobs in a time when jobs weren’t easy to come by.

  “This is a setup. We both know it. What’s the difference between me and Jerry over there?” I motioned to my fellow tech and gaming enthusiast. He was most likely playing Star Conqueror right at that moment, sucking up the same bandwidth I had been, but then again, Phil wasn’t gunning for Jerry’s head.

  “Let’s not bring other people into your trouble,” Phil said, a smile curling across his lips. “You should focus on yourself.”

  The breakroom door opened, and Jeff stepped in carrying a box. He looked sympathetic, and I knew exactly what was in the box. All my stuff. It was weird how everything I owned here at work could fit into one little box. Just one little box. You’d think after a year, I’d have had more stuff.

  Phil couldn’t hide his smirk as he looked down at me. “I’m sorry, David, but you will be suspended, effective immediately.”

  I wanted to punch the smug asshole. I needed this job. Like everyone else, I had bills to pay, food to put on the table, all the usual stuff. Sure, my savings would hold out for a time, and losing my job wouldn’t be the end of the world …

  But that wasn’t the point.

  Before I could respond to Phil in a way that wasn’t a right cross, Jeff set the box on the table and tapped the top of it. “I made sure that I got everything at your desk.” He risked eye contact with me for a beat and looked away, clearly upset. “I’m sorry, David, but the rules are the rules. After the complaint Phil filed, my hands are tied.”

  I stood up then, fists clenched but kept them lowered. “Fine, we’ll see what the Department of Labor has to say about this and Phil’s bogus complaints,” I said, but my thoughts drifted to Tulip.

  Her words rang in my ears, and as I pictured her face, I decided I didn’t much care about this place after all. After all, I was a vet. I’d been through harder stretches in the past, and I could adapt and overcome.

  “You know what, I don’t even care about it, Phil. Just give me my gear, and I’ll be on my way.” I shrugged and held out my hand. “Look, I don’t have all day.”

  Instead of doing this one decent thing, Phil only glared at me for a long moment, and I realized this wasn’t going as he’d planned. I think he’d expected me to grovel or beg or flip out. Who knows, but either way, I wasn’t doing what he’d wanted. Somehow, that knowledge was strangely satisfying to me.

  “Everyone, get out,” Phil snapped, turning toward where Jerry still sat playing his game, blissfully unaware of what was going on. “Janet, get Jerry.”

  Janet gathered her salad bowl and hustled over to Jerry. She used the proper etiquette method unlike Phil, pressing the ping button several times on the side of the helmet, alerting the user to an outside request to log out.

  A moment later, Jerry took his helmet off and smiled. “Is it time already?” he asked before looking around the room, from me to the box, then to Phil and Jeff. “Whoa, there’s like some serious tension in this room. What happened?”

  “Hey, Jerry,” I said with an offhand gesture toward my former boss. “Phil’s trying to get me fired, and I beat the game.” I smiled broadly. “You haven’t lived until you see Tulip take off the power suit.”

  “Tulip took off her power suit?” His eyes went wide as his mind struggled to process my words. “Wait … you beat Star Conqueror? Dude, you have to tell me how. The Star Con community is going to go nuts.” Phil grunted then, and the sound made Jerry’s face fall. “Wait, how is he trying to do that?”

  “Well,” I began, gesturing at Jeff. “Some asshole got Jeff to revoke my internet privileges a minute before I logged on. So, Phil here is suspending me.”

  Jerry blinked as he tucked his headgear under his arm. “Dude, right before the annual owner’s meeting?”

  That was when it all clicked. Phil had to fire me before the meeting. The owner would be there, and she already liked me more than Phil. It was looking likely that she’d promote me to his position, considering how despite Phil’s tyrannical rule, the rest of the IT department had been grumbling about him for a while now.

  “Jerry, get out,” Phil roared, his face turning a particularly annoying shade of reddish purple. “Everyone out.”

  Jerry tossed me a questioning look, and when I nodded, he left with Janet. Jeff arched an eyebrow, and I thought for a moment he was going to overrule Phil’s command, but then he relented, his eyes focused on Phil oddly as he left the room.

  A few seconds later, Phil and I were alone again, and I saw the anger in his eyes. This whole time, Phil had been screwing up his courage, ready now to really unload on me, but I beat him to the punch.

  “Look, Phil, you can’t make false accusations about me because you don’t like me,” I said, trying to stay professional. “That’s petty and dumb. These things always come out in the end, and when it does, you’ll definitely lose your job.”

  “Wrong,” he shot back childishly. “I run this department, and I can do whatever I want.”

  “This is about the owner, isn’t? Don’t like the fact that Miss Miranda is going to promote me over you?” I said, gesturing at him. “That’s just low, man.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he snarled, and his knuckles turned white as he gripped my VR set tightly.

  “Look, it’s fine, Phil. You want me gone because you think that being the IT manager of some little tech firm makes you the king of the world and I threaten that.” I waved a hand at him. “It’s fucked up, but it’s your bag. I mean, it isn’t going to end well for you since she’s already looking for your replacement, but whatever.” I held my hand out. “Just give me my headset and I’ll go. You can tell everyone I begged or whatever the fuck you want.”

  “She won’t fire me!” The plastic helmet made a cracking sound in his hands, and as he released his grip, the gear fell into two pieces to the table.

  As I stared at the broken gear that took me months to save up to get, I nearly lost my cool. It wasn’t just some crap gear. It was the best, and it helped me become one of the best players at the game. More importantly, I had no way to log back in to see what happened next.

  Only, if I snapped and pummeled him into oblivion, he’d get what he wanted. He’d see that I cared, and I most certainly didn’t care about him or his stupid job. Besides, I could get a new set-up on the way home. It might not be as good, but it would do, and once I was caught up in SC, I’d hit the job hunt. Assuming Miss Miranda didn’t call me up to take Phil’s job after this insanity of his.

  I got up from my chair and took a step toward Phil. I was taller than him, and I looked down at the angry, little man with pity. “I’m sorry that your life sucks, Phil.”

  He stepped back even as anger built in his eyes. “I didn’t mean to break that, but … but I’m glad I did. You’re breaking my career.” And with that, Phil did the one thing I didn’t expect.

  He made a fist with his right hand and swung at me.

  My Marine training kicked in, and I blocked the punch with my arm before stepping to the side and driving my fist into his liver.

  Phil groaned and grabbed at his side as he crumbled to the
floor, crying out in pain. I wanted to do more, but what was the point? This guy was a loser. He knew it. I knew it. The owner knew it. I controlled myself with a deep breath. I had a greasy taste in my mouth as if I’d taken a swig of kerosene. I swallowed it, and my gut felt like it was on fire.

  “Help,” Phil yelled out between groans.

  That was my exit cue. I grabbed my broken VR gear and dumped it into the box Jeff had so nicely gathered for me before jogging toward the door.

  “My cousin is a cop. I’m going to …” Phil tried to say but went into another fit of agonized groans.

  Jeff opened the door just as I reached it. He peeked in, saw Phil on the ground, and then looked at me curiously.

  “Call the police,” Phil yelled from the floor. “I’ve been assaulted.”

  Jeff stepped back, his brow rising as a smile flicked across his face. “Sure, Phil, I’ll get right on that,” he said and motioned for me to go by.

  I stopped right on the other side of the breakroom door as Jeff closed it behind me, cutting off Phil’s groans. “He punched first,” I said flatly.

  Jeff smiled. “I know, and I think we have enough to finally get this guy in trouble. I’m sorry I left you out to hang for a minute there, David, but I needed solid proof about Phil’s excesses. I mean, the breakroom has cameras.” He patted me on the shoulder. “For now, you should go. I’ll call you later.”

  I nodded with an appreciative smile. “I forgive you. Just happy to see that someone was already trying to do something about that asshole. Thanks, Jeff.”

  The rows of cubicles had many heads peeking over them as the rest of the employees of Inetect heard Phil screaming from the breakroom.

  Jeff gave me an appreciative nod as I walked by. I hurried by the different people I’d worked with over the last year. No one said a word, and even Janet pulled her shawl across her face as I passed her. That was when I heard it, a clap from one person, then more. In a few seconds, the whole office was applauding. I guess I wasn’t the only one that wanted to take a punch at the man. I bowed with a smile and headed toward the exit.

  Jerry stood near the exit door with a big smile. “Dude, as soon as you can, you have to tell me how you beat the game.”

  “It’s all in the dragon,” I said as I walked by him.

  “The dragon …” Jerry repeated softly to himself.

  I glanced back and spotted Janet on the phone, giving me a quick, furtive look. She was probably on the phone with the police. She had always been Phil’s chief toady, so that didn’t surprise me. Whatever. I wasn’t worried that I defended myself. After all, the man attacked me, with plenty of witnesses.

  Strolling out of the office building into the sunny air, I actually felt sort of free, like a weight was off my shoulders. Still, I figured I should put a move on. I had to buy that replacement gear and see the rest of what Star Conqueror had in store for me. Tulip and her message were almost all I could think about, and any last concerns about Phil or Inetect drifted from my mind.

  Or they would have, if a crack of thunder overhead hadn’t ripped me from my thoughts. I looked up, wondering if the weather was going to turn on me to see a black cloud rolling out from the fluffy white ones. The whole sky darkened as the angry clouds spread over most of the sky, angling for the far side of the lot where I had parked.

  My ten-year old pickup sat side-by-side next to Phil’s brand-new Chevy Corvette. A self-bought birthday present, it screamed mid-life crisis. My car just screamed because the belts were loose, but even still, I didn’t want to get rid of my baby. I loved her, warts and all.

  That was when the stormy clouds peeled away from the distinct gunmetal gray hull of a Star Conqueror Hunter-class long range patrol vessel. The main body was roughly triangular, the whole thing the size of a football field and several stories tall … and this was a small vessel in game terms. As I gawked at it, I realized the bridge I had been standing in, the one in-game where the too-real Tulip had talked to me, was the right size to be that of a Hunter.

  As the Hunter’s landing legs extended out onto the fringes of the parking lot, one struck Phil’s yellow Corvette, smashing it into the asphalt so hard that it almost disappeared.

  The gray ship hummed loudly as the back blast from its atmospheric impulse engines sent waves of grass clippings, fast food wrappers, and dust over me. Even as I raised my hands to shield my face, partially blocking the view, it was still so fucking cool, all glinting metal and space-age tech

  As I stared uncomprehendingly at the ship, its door opened, and a ramp extended out from it, touching the ground.

  “This can’t be real,” I mumbled right before a cat-like woman I knew well stepped out of the door and hurried down the ramp. Tulip had on the same half jersey and jean shorts from our last encounter, and when she saw me, she smiled.

  “Hello, David!” As if this were totally normal, she strode toward me, and as she moved, it was evident she wasn’t wearing a bra because damn.

  This was the too-real Tulip I encountered just minutes before and even the smudge of dirt that had been on her brow was the same. The black, pointy ears on top of her head, black tail and feline face were distinctively cat-like, and combined with her hourglass figure and sleek, toned muscle to make her one of the most beautiful creatures I’d ever seen.

  “Hello,” I replied, finally able to make myself talk as she cleared the distance between us. “How are you here?”

  Tulip let out a purring giggle, thumbing back at the starship. “That’s how, obviously, or do you mean to ask why. That’s simple. I’m here because you beat the game.” Happiness washed over her face, and she moved closer to me. “I thought that was obvious. You did what no man could do. What no man has ever done.”

  “Right, okay—”

  Before I could say more, she hugged me, pulling me close to her body and rubbing herself against me in a way that felt distinctly feline. She moved her mouth against my shoulder, inhaling deeply, and said, “I’m glad we found you first, and I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but we need to get you out of here.”

  That was true. My co-workers couldn’t ignore this kind of spectacle, and they’d be out here with cellphone cameras and even more questions than me in a moment. What would they say when they saw this? Assuming I wasn’t crazy of course. But then again, this felt real, and I didn’t feel crazy …

  “I’m not crazy, right?” I looked right at her, and her eyes sparkled with amusement.

  “David, I promise you’re not crazy. Well, not more than any of us,” Tulip said, gripping my shoulders with her soft hands. “This is real. I’m real, and we need your help. Desperately.”

  3

  Somehow, I had managed to save my questions for when we were inside the ship, the landing ramp retracting behind me with a hiss of hydraulics. The scratches in the walkway, the little hitch the ramp did, and the just slightly imperfect lighting in the ship all clued me in to how real this was. There was no way any game, no matter how advanced could have this fidelity.

  The moment the ramp had sealed into place, the entire ship lurched, a soft hum filling my ears as what I remembered to be inertial dampers came online, preventing Tulip and me from being flung around by the turbulence of take-off. Every second, every little bit of sensory input, especially the tactile feel and scents convinced me more and more than I wasn’t crazy, that this was very, very real.

  Tulip was staring at me, a smile on her lips as she stroked my shoulder. It was an odd gesture, but I won’t lie. It felt strangely comforting. “I know this is so much to take in at once, but … welcome to the Orion, David, and welcome to the wider universe, something you humans have almost no awareness of.”

  I glanced around, memories of the game passing through my mind. How many times had I stood here in one Resistance ship or another, clad in power armor and waiting to disembark on a mission, or dressed down and eager to get back to home base? More than I could count and the whole idea of doing that again, but for real, made me a
lmost bounce with excitement.

  “No, Tulip, I’m fine,” I said with growing strength. “I mean, yes, there is a lot to take in, like the fact that the game I just beat is real, you’re real … hold on, is Turner real too?”

  Tulip must have seen the eager excitement in my eyes and purred. “Oh yes, Turner is very, very real. He’s on the bridge now, taking us out of the atmosphere and on our way.” Her hand slid from my shoulder, tracing down the line of my arm before she took my hand again. “There is so much to tell you, but for now, please. Ask me any questions you have as you come with me.”

  Considering this ultra-hot catwoman was the real thing and she was leading me towards the bridge of an honest-to-God Hunter class starship, she would have had to beat me off with a stick to keep me from following her. Every moment was the height of awesome, and I know I was gawking at every bulkhead, every computer display, and every litter-bot rolling down the hallways like I was a tourist.

  “Okay, well, I guess first things first.” I shook my head and tried to get serious, focus on the bigger picture. “If you, Turner, and the Resistance are real, the Matriarchy—”

  Tulip frowned faintly as her eyes set with fierce resolve. “All too real, which is why it is absolutely vital to get you to the Resistance’s secret base on the fringe of the Milky Way.” Now I felt a little stupid for never giving the SC conspiracy nuts any credit. As she continued, her voice carried that same resolve and that hint of religious fervor I had seen in her eyes before. “With the power of the dragon in you, you truly will be able to fulfill the prophecy and turn the tide of the war.”

  I was about to ask the next, most obvious question, namely what this prophecy thing was about, when she led me into the bridge itself. To no further surprise of mine, I recognized it immediately as the same place that Tulip had contacted me from after my victory, right down to the plastic trash bin, though an empty Twinkies box had been stuffed into the top.