Traitor GIT: A LitRPG Adventure (Traclaon Armageddon Book 2), page 27
Eric opened his eyes. “Sorry, Zhong. I stuffed up. You can get the boon even if your soul space is full. That’s the bit I read. My mistake.” Zhong waved it away; his brief flash of anger was gone. “I think the information wasn’t prominent because, for the people who were coming to get this boon, ten soul space wasn’t significant. For them, it was two and a half levels.”
“Ten years,” Fiona interrupted. “That’s ten years at higher levels.”
Eric shook his head. “I’m not sure about that. Most of the geniuses who wanted this boon was progressing faster than that. If you have four hundred soul space, losing ten is not that big a deal.”
Zhong pinched his nose. “It’s okay. I overreacted. I don’t have the large trait. Soul space will be a restriction to me.”
“You’ll get boons to more than make up for that lost soul space.”
“And Samesh won’t,” Zhong challenged.
“Samesh won’t,” Eric agreed evenly. “The reborn knowledge. Be here, doing this, at this exact time, time. Nope, he won’t be getting those. Maybe one, but definitely not two.”
“That was a bad straw to draw,” Lucas observed.
“We’re done,” Eric said, ignoring Lucas. “Apart from dismantling like we talked about.” Eric pointed. “Fiona or Zhong, up there, through that hole is a yellow crystal. You’ll need to tug it and move it an inch out of position.” The two of them were looking at each other. “No DNA, full protective suit.”
“Sounds unpleasant,” Fiona said.
“Really, you’re playing that card. Do you want me to assign someone randomly?”
Fiona looked at Zhong, and then snorted. “Yeah.”
“Or pick what my girlfriend wants.”
“Be fair,” Fiona ordered instantly.
Eric smiled to himself. The AI’s random number selected Zhong, meaning Fiona needed to go up into the crevice. “Are you sure you don’t want Lucas to generate the random number?”
“We trust you,” Zhong said.
“What’s the answer?” Fiona challenged.
“Sorry. You’re doing the climb.”
“You could have cheated.”
“You told me not to.”
Fiona stuck out a tongue at him. “You’re the worst boyfriend ever. Read between the lines. Next time.”
The four of them, minus Fiona, moved away from the platform and up the two annoying large steps to their exit tunnel.
Behind them, Fiona frowned as she got into a suit that quickly wrapped her up in what ended up looking like a space suit. The outer surface was completely sterile. Hydrogen balloons inflated to float her up toward the hole, and then when she was suspended in the air and well away from all of them, a second suit spread out from her backpack. The balloons hit the top of the roof, and Fiona pushed herself up until her hands found a ridge she could grab, and then she pulled herself up and rapidly disappeared from sight. Three minutes later, she reappeared, gave a thumbs-up and took off the clothes once she got to the ground with the hydrogen balloons. The suits that Fiona had used would be immediately recycled, and by the time they got back to King’s Shiv, there would be no evidence left around what they had done.
“Done. Double clean suit and…” Fiona waved around the pair of tongs that had been used to pop the crystal clear. “I didn’t use fingers.” The suit had ended in three-pronged claw digits as an extra layer of protection, but it was good she hadn’t used them. The tongs were better. “Even if they do a detailed investigation, they will not know a human was up there.”
“Good they knew we were here.” He patted the temple wall. “And that’s not a problem. But signs of humans up there.” Eric shook his head. “You know, it would probably be okay but might make them a little suspicious. I don’t want to give anyone an excuse to look at us too closely. DNA or human handprints visible under microscopic arrays. No thanks. This way, if they test it will look like something non-human went up there.”
Lucas patted him on the back. “I still don’t know whether to be alarmed or impressed that you’re this paranoid.”
They chatted, and a little while later, they heard the hovercraft coming closer.
CHAPTER 31
With the sounds of the two hovercraft approaching, Lucas immediately became all business. “Fiona and Zhong, you’re in charge of Eric. Delia, you’re with me.”
Eric and his minders quickly got into position under the strange red tree whose best features were the massive overlapping leaves that hid them from satellite observation. The hovercraft sped by, and Fiona and Zhong grabbed hold of him, one on each side. Their shoulders pressed just under his shoulder blade and their arms down over his bum between his legs, and then holding on to his thigh. They then both lifted him effortlessly and Eric activated the custom-built adaptable suit they had designed and printed for him. Material slid up from his collar over his neck to the crown of his head. Eric immediately leaned back into it. Initially, it was stiff, but under the pressure, it molded into his anatomy before hardening.
Then a fiber looped around his forehead to pin him to the makeshift neck brace. It was restrictive. He could no longer do little things such as turn his head because the fabric would not give way; however, it wasn’t uncomfortable, as it was more like being restricted by pillows than by hard, unyielding plastic.
“Eric’s prepared,” Fiona reported. The neck and head reinforcements were there to stop whiplash.
The hovercraft continued to approach. Eric could hear it but had to use Soul Scouting to watch it. As it got closer, Eric changed perspective to look at them. He could see himself standing like a statue looking rigidly straight ahead, and then Fiona and Zhong next to him. Both crouched, ready to jump, and their heads focused on the rapidly approaching vehicle. Eric wasn’t great with speeds, but his processor told him the hovercraft was traveling at thirty kilometers per hour. That sort of speed wasn’t a joke, and without the reinforcements, he would have a one in twenty chance of dying, at least historically. With modern medicine, the chances of long-term consequences were probably zero. In any case, wearing safety equipment to prevent complications was worthwhile.
Fiona and Zhong must have created an internal jump program because they leaped simultaneously. Eric felt like a truck had slammed into his back, then there was a second equally as violent jerk in a perpendicular direction when they were in the vehicle. Protections or not, Eric knew he was going to suffer bruises from that collision.
“Ouch,” he complained as the other two gently lowered him onto a seat.
“Don’t move, bubs, until you’ve confirmed there’s no spine injury,” Fiona instructed.
Eric lay still for a moment, letting his healing flow through him, more to assess damage than anything else.
“How are you feeling?” Fiona asked anxiously.
“Bruised.” He stretched exaggeratedly, and the hard cloak on his back softened. He gave her a thumbs-up. “There’s a bit of pain, but not much. I hate being an invalid.”
“You’re not an invalid,” Fiona said cheerfully.
Zhong chuckled, “He sort of is.”
“I’m not in the mood,” Eric snapped at them.
“And I’m not comfortable with you getting on Traitor GIT’s ship, but you don’t see me whining this much.”
“You’re not my minder, Zhong.”
The other man frowned. “No, but you should reconsider. Stopping this guy is not worth risking your life.”
“No. Humanity can’t lose HC#004. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind.”
“It’s reckless.”
“Guidance agrees with me.” Eric hated using that name, especially when he wasn’t sure his statement was accurate. Thankfully, there was no response. It didn’t stir, and internally, he sighed in relief.
“Guidance can be interpreted in different ways?” Zhong said quietly, not as worried about saying the boon’s name. “Are you certain you’re not garbling its message?”
“Yep, it put a gun against my head. The quest is clear. If I fail, I lose one of my time boons?”
Zhong processed that. ”Guidance?”
Eric hated that Zhong was unaffected by the entity and could say its name so casually. “Possibly. I have three time boons, and I will lose one, I think randomly.”
Or not, he thought.
After all, Guidance was happy to cheat. Not that it mattered if he was to meet the Traclaon threat, then he needed all three of his boons.
“He did stupid stuff that saved my life,” Fiona said quietly. “That decision got him, Francis, and everything worked in the end. I’m sort of thinking we should have some faith in him.”
“I hear what you’re saying, but what we’re debating is the fate of humanity. Faith doesn’t belong in the conversation.”
“Exactly,” Eric agreed forcefully. “Fate of humanity. If I don’t do it, then humanity dies.”
Zhong laughed. “You’re more stubborn than I am,” Zhong conceded, comfortable that the point had been argued and he didn’t need to do anything more.
“Driven,” Fiona pointed mildly.
“And thank god for that,” Zhong said. “Plus, I was only playing the devil’s advocate.” Zhong’s tone of voice changed abruptly. “What’s the plan for now?”
Eric thought about it for a moment. “Lucas’ call. We need to finish the expedition. We’ve met all our individual objectives.”
Their radio clicked on. “Guys,” Lucas said, “I’ve got good and bad news.”
“Uh-oh,” Fiona said.
“Good first,” Eric decided.
“That augment that I found in the temple was rare rated.”
Eric’s Soul Scouting flicked to the other craft and Lucas looked happy. “That’s great.”
“Yes, plus ten to the Blade skill and a further five percent. How much soul space, Samesh?”
“Only eight.”
Fiona whistled.
“That’s definitely rare rated,” Eric confirmed after a moment’s thought. “Who should get it?”
“That’s the bad news,” Lucas continued. “It bonded straight with Samesh.”
“Great,” Eric said immediately. “Samesh deserves it. After all, he sort of got screwed last time.”
“Really?” Samesh asked.
“You’re going to be a hero too,” Eric reminded him. “That’s an amazing augment to get.”
“I thought you would be upset.”
“That you got something good? Nope. You got shafted with the temple and you’re the test dummy for augments. I would’ve pushed for you to get it anyway.”
There was a long pause. “Thank you.”
After they settled into a nice routine, they swept through two more ruins, which failed to yield even a single augment. Eric continued to kill most natives unless they fell in the narrow range that benefited Samesh, which was usually a factor of distance. The way Samesh’s absorption trait worked, the distance penalty wasn’t as punitive. At half a kilometer, he would only lose fifty percent of the experience, while Eric suffered an almost ninety percent decline.
Nights were sitting around a campfire eating poorly cooked meals. The automatic cook would make something nicer, but there was something magical about preparing dinner and then enduring the ribbing of your companions even when the result was semi-decent. All the campfire meals were eaten, apart from Lucas’ one attempt. They had resorted to the automatic cook that night, much to his mortification.
They were cruising along on top of the hovercraft as usual.
“Max and Sara,” Lucas said over the radio. Both Eric and Fiona tensed. “We’re approaching the Shiv. Don’t accidentally shoot any of our allies.”
Everyone laughed while Eric and Fiona checked the surveillance net. Lucas had spotted a big squat vehicle that was positioned on the top of a hill ten kilometers away. It was from their expedition range, but it meant that they could no longer guarantee that their radio communications were secure.
With a grimace, Eric’s unguarded expression was replaced with a perpetual scowl. Next to him Fiona, or Sara as she had to be known, pouted at that change. A tiny, heavily encrypted thread was extended to him.
It’s just three days, Eric sent to her, trying to cheer her up.
Fiona was looking out across the strange landscape and there was a significant pause. Maybe there might be stragglers, and after that, we need to worry about the seeker and GIT. It might be ages.
Eric took a moment to consider his response. Yeah. It’ll suck. But we’re both getting regeneration therapy. There’s a long life ahead of us.
Fiona looked at him a small smile on her lips. There was the maturity that sometimes caught him by surprise. A huge grin split his features.
No need to get soppy. Fiona winked at him.
Eric could not help himself. He laughed out loud, only barely adding a slight sneer at the end. Next to him, Fiona’s body convulsed as she suppressed her laughter at his terrible acting. He could feel each vibration.
“You know, that’s rude,” Zhong muttered. “Having your own private conversations.”
Soul Scouting spotted a phase lion right at the edge of his range over four kilometers away and in the opposite direction of the other treasure-hunting group. Eric really wanted to kill it. His eyes picked out an oddly shaped hill in the right direction.
He tapped Zhong. “Veer right. That hill looks unnatural.” The radio was open so everyone could hear.
Zhong tapped the hovercraft, and it changed course.
“More.”
Zhong touched the joystick a little further. “It looks natural. I don’t think it’s a ruin?”
“Maybe,” Eric answered.
“Waste of time,” Fiona grumbled. “It’s not like the ruins have given us anything. Good.”
The radio crackled. “The data packets of the ruins sell for a lot,” Lucas reminded them. “If that hill has ruins, we want to check them out.” They all knew it didn’t, but Lucas was happy to play along with Eric, comfortable in the knowledge that he would not be acting frivolously.
“This detour is stupid. Aren’t we out of time?” Fiona argued.
“No, Sara, we’re not. Cut the attitude or I’ll dock your pay further.”
“No, just saying…”
“Don’t,” Lucas interrupted Fiona. “Do your job, and when we’re back in Sol, we can part company and never see each other again.”
“It’s HC#001!”
“Sara,” there was a warning tone in Lucas’ voice, “it’ll always be Sol. Officially, we might use the galactic council’s designation. But it’s always Sol to us humans.”
They fell into silence.
The hill came into range of their sonar. “Sorry, boss, nothing there.”
“That’s okay, Max. Keep a lookout. It’ll be good to find another ruin, but given that we’re so close to touching down, it’s unlikely. If the church propaganda is accurate, we might find our fortunes in one of them.”
“I think Samesh stole the other one deliberately,” Max grumbled. Samesh hadn’t received the boon, so they couldn’t hide the augments that he had absorbed.
“Bullshit,” Samesh shot back. “All I did was pick it up. You all saw it. One mistake.” Another deliberate lie for any listeners. Samesh had two augments, but to this team, he was only admitting to one.
“His share of the other loot will get docked,” Lucas reminded them, sounding worn out.
“Which I’m going to dispute,” Samesh snapped out. “I don’t want the augment in me.”
“ENOUGH!”
Everyone shut up at Lucas’ shout. Eric smiled internally. He hoped they were under surveillance, because the acting had been impeccable.
The phase cat was highlighted in the hovercraft’s sensors. “Mine,” Eric bellowed into the radio. “Bring it in, Zhongie.”
“We’ve already bagged a phase lion,” Lucas complained. “I’m with Sara. This has become a waste of time.”
The AX5 in Eric’s hands started spitting bullets. The phase cat immediately orientated on them and charged the hovercraft.
“For goodness’ sake, Max!” Lucas yelled. “I ordered you to leave it.”
He kept firing marvelously at how good his twin upgrades were that let him track this beast. Soul Scouting and his soul base, allowing him to follow what to anyone else was an invisible animal, though Fiona had the drones out to hide Eric’s use of his trait.
The stupid animal kept running, and its head exploded when it was only fifty meters away. Almost perfect. “Got it,” Eric said with grim satisfaction.
“Get samples,” Lucas ordered.
“You just said we’ve got enough,” Eric argued back. Knowing Lucas, he would enjoy acting as much as Eric was.
“You kill it; you get samples.”
“Boss!”
“No, do it.”
As expected, Eric lost the argument, and he jumped off the hovercraft to process the animal. DNA samples only.
That boxy vehicle was returning to the King’s Shiv just like that and stayed within spying range the whole way. That meant no open banter. They failed to find another ruin. There was no hand-to-hand hunting. Eric was almost relieved when they pulled into the camp around their ship.
Max and Sara set up a tent in the same spot as last time. Both of them bitched openly about Lucas the whole time. Four teams were yet to return, but it was two days to their designated departure slot, and the hope was that they would all make it back in time.
The camp held a party, and Sara went to be the social butterfly while Max drank. At the crack of dawn, with the party still going, Sara slipped into the tent. According to the clock cycle they were using, it was a little after midnight. She immediately slid under the blankets with him. She was resting her head on his shoulder. He felt her extend a thread through their body contact.
How was it? Eric asked.
Fiona hugged in tighter. Annoying. Next time, we’re getting you an identity with something approaching social skills.
Doubt it. Those types have too many connections for me to take over their lives.
I know that. The camp sucks. It was much more enjoyable out in the wilds where we could be ourselves.
