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“SO THEN, CREW, listen up!” I called out to everyone in the frigate’s common room. “Be on heightened alert. No one is to leave the game. Uline Tar, Eduard Boyko, Dmitry Zheltov, Gerd Ayni Uri-Miayuu and Tini will be coming outside with me. Ayukh and San-Doon are to stay on the bridge. Everyone else follow the orders of Supercargo Avan Toi. He’ll tell you what help is needed to clear out the cargo hold and make room for trophies as fast as possible.”
The sullen Supercargo gave an important nod and took most of the crew with him down to the lower deck. The only crew member I explicitly did not include was the spiny Jarg – trying to get him to help with loading and unloading made about as much sense as trying to get milk from a bull. I then turned to the five players coming out with me:
“Let’s check our space suits, then fill our air tanks to the brim. We’ll leave through the front airlock so we don’t get in the others’ way. We have two levitators, so one is gonna need to take three riders. Uline Tar will pilot that one, Dmitry Zheltov the other. As soon as we leave the ship, make sure to clip on your tethers. Outside the artificial gravitation zone around the frigate, there are virtually no attractive forces, so try not to fly off the asteroid. The last thing we need is to go around scooping up crew floating helplessly through space.”
“Captain, will magnetic soles work here?” Eduard asked, alarmed and still not having worked on the surface of a small body in space.
I reassured the Space Commando that this asteroid was composed mostly of iron-bearing ores, so the magnetic soles of a space suit would work here just fine, automatically sensing every time a foot started down and switching on. At the very least, we had no problems with them last time.
“Let’s split up into two groups and fly along the cleavage of the asteroid. Maintain extreme caution – keep radio communication to a minimum and stay behind cover. Try not to stick out or attract the attention from the security systems. Our goal is to find a good platform for a gravity crane, maybe even a few on different sides of the cleavage. Avan Toi and the other crew members are unloading our crane from the hold right now, so let’s step to.”
Based on my distance estimates, the gravitation crane would easily be close enough to grab the six-barreled plasma turrets one after the other and bring them closer while leaving the hazardous security systems outside our direct line of sight. And from there, it would all be simple: when the Immolators got within range, I was planning to deactivate them with Machine Control. After that, we’d just have to fold up the robots nice and compact, then load them into the cargo hold. Then after all the illegal miners’ security systems were disarmed, we could start packing up the mining equipment. I suspected they were now mining from inside the asteroid, and that we would find a tunnel entrance somewhere in the middle of the circle formed by the five plasma turrets.
Yes, certain complications could arise if the robot guards went back inside burrows. If they did that, we’d have to somehow bait them out before capturing them with the crane, but that didn’t seem all too difficult, so I wasn’t especially worried.
“What’s on your mind, Jarg?”
The spiny Analyst had been trying to draw my attention for a minute already, blowing himself up to a dangerous practically balloon-like state, then deflating himself again. After I gave him permission to speak, the Jarg put the Universal Translator around his neck and told me what had him so worried:
“Big brazen smuggler. Very strange. So confident in alien territory. Must understand. Knowledge. Who enemy. Maybe. Dangerous. More trouble than worth.”
Uhh... It wasn’t hard to understand what the Analyst was driving at. He was suggesting I weigh all the risks before acting. What could I say? He was right. We really did have no idea who we were dealing with or who owned this whole mining complex. There could be no doubt they were rich. Compensating losses with such ease and reinforcing security was something only a player with a fortune in the millions could afford. Furthermore, they probably had established connections with traders and the administration of nearby space stations and planets, given they were mining large quantities of platinum and other precious metals without drawing unwanted attention. So it was a distinct possibility this “big brazen smuggler” was some very influential and powerful figure. I asked the crew members what they thought about the illegal miner’s identity.
“I mean, what difference does it make?” Dmitry Zheltov asked in surprise. “No matter who it is, they’re breaking the law by mining precious metal without the proper license or paying taxes to the owners of the star system. So we’re doing a good deed, punishing a flagrant idiot. What’s more, they will have no way of finding out who we are, much less finding us!”
“Not quite, human. It could make a difference, a big one in fact!” my ward Tini unexpectedly jumped in. “It’s one thing if it’s some unknown Free Captain to mine platinum at their own peril. But it’s another thing entirely if the Pride of the Bushy Shadow, or the Agile Paw or some other violent group is behind the illegal enterprise. For my part, I wasn’t a member of the Bushy Shadow for very long, but I can say for sure that the pride has secret operations to mine precious metal in lots of star systems. And tussling with them will land you in hot water! But it could be even worse if a flagrant criminal organization like the Hive of Tintara is behind this mine.” When the Miyelonian adolescent mentioned that organization, his ears laid back. “Their invisible web weaves through almost half the galaxy. Such serious players really do not appreciate being messed with. They especially dislike when someone tries to take their things. They dislike it so much that they hire headhunters. And not just in the game, in the real world too!”
“Calm down Tini. The Hive of Tintara has nothing to do with this,” the Trader interrupted the Miyelonian teen’s groaning, seemingly having heard about the organization and its gloomy reputation before. “Every facility that belongs to the Hive of Tintara is marked with an easily identifiable warning symbol,” the furry Geckho lady said, drawing a series of whimsically intersecting strokes in the air with her paw.
“That is the Trillian symbol for ‘Execution,’“ said Gerd Ayni.
“And there was nothing of the sort on the automatic equipment we took from here last time with Captain Uraz Tukhsh!”
After Uline said that, Tini and Ayni noticeably brightened up. They were clearly afraid to tangle with the Hive of Tintara. My mind started to wander though. I was hearing about the Hive of Tintara for the first time, but it was seemingly a very famous mafia gang, and even pirate prides were afraid to cross them. That made me think of the Trillian merchant Ussh Veesh in a different light. He was free to visit the pirate station Medu-Ro IV and I had bought him some magical jewelry there. In fact, if memory served, that very symbol for “Execution” was engraved on the space crocodile’s breastplate.
But I was well acquainted with the Prides of the Agile Paw and Bushy Shadow. And it was highly unlikely the mine belonged to the Agile Paw. That gang was headed by the casino owner on Medu-Ro IV and had only gotten into the precious metal business a month ago. And they didn’t even know about the Solar System back then. But I wouldn’t say no to giving the Pride of the Bushy Shadow another pinch on the cheek. Maybe make it even more painful this time so the pirates would learn not to mess with me!
So I voiced my decision:
“Plans stay the same. As long as we don’t see the symbol of the Hive of Tintara... And if we do, the plans still don’t get called off! Have you checked your space suits? Great! Then let’s put them on and get out there!”
Authority increased to 64!
We ran into a little problem at the airlock: Uline Tar and Eduard Boyko were first into the decompression chamber and, in their hulking armored space suits, the two of them took up almost the whole thing. Only the Starship Pilot was able to somehow fit with them. The others had to wait for round two. And who could have predicted that such a purely technical issue would have such a profound influence on the course of events?
A frightened scream from Uline Tar rang out instantly in my headphones, after which the icons of all three characters went dim in the group interface. Did they die?! What happened out there??? To make matters worse, “Anya” then shouted fearfully:
“Captain, enemies just outside the ship!!! Avan Toi’s group has been massacred. The only survivors were me and Denni Marko!!! We lost the gravity crane and heavy loader!”
* * *
WHAT A STICKY SITUATION! Mere moments after we landed, we’d already lost two thirds of our crew... I ran as fast as I could to the bridge of the ship so I could take a look around with the external cameras. In the meantime, I activated my Scanning skill and even whistled when it gave a result – the huge multiple-legged mechanical robots were no more than ten feet from our unmoving frigate traipsing around and examining the dead bodies of my crew! The Immolators weren’t hiding in their burrows as I thought. Quite the opposite. They had run to where our ship landed and greeted the players exiting the frigate with fire from their plasma turrets.
I flew onto the bridge, throwing open the doors noisily. A sense of despair and dismay reigned. San-Doon had turned on the inactive monitors but it was too late. Ayukh meanwhile could only stand pointlessly in the middle of the room looking lost.
“Leng Gnat, the enemies appeared so fast that we weren’t even able to warn anyone,” the gray Navigator justified himself, lowering his head in shame just like a person. “We noticed the movement on the monitor too late. And as bad luck would have it, I cut power to most of the equipment here on the bridge to give the Kirsan repair bots a chance to fix the analyzer structures damaged by the plasma fire. So when we were attacked, the motion detectors and most of the external cameras were off... It’s all my fault, captain!”
Alright, what the heck... I just waved a hand because I also felt like this was my fault. Was it really so hard to guess that the mobile guard robots would want to come check on their target after it got out of range?! And I mean, the distance here was miniscule – less than a mile!
And meanwhile the five robots had finished examining the dead bodies, even finishing one of them off with a point-blank shot. Then they all went in different directions turned and froze, pointing their plasma cannons at the frigate. I started tensing up in fear, figuring the starship was about to be destroyed, then I would die. But no shots were fired.
“Why are they not attacking?” San-Doon asked about a minute later, his eyes also fixated on the image from the external cameras and watching the fearsome titans glinting in the rays of the bright sun. All five of the Immolators were still there and holding the Tolili-Ukh X in the sights of their thirty barrels.
I came up with an answer to the Pilot’s question:
“They think they took everyone down and now they’re simply standing guard over their prey and waiting for their masters. Either that or they’re confident we have no way of escaping their trap and flying away. In any case, there’s no sense in them shooting because an undamaged frigate has a significantly higher value than a pile of debris. For now. I’m sure that if we try to turn on thrusters or activate turrets, we will be annihilated in an instant.”
I repeated the last sentence two times, the second especially for Denni Marko, who was in the gunner’s seat. After that, Denni hastily pulled his hand away from the firing control system in fear and confirmed that he was not going to do anything without an order from his captain.
The situation was really coming together unpleasantly. But it wasn’t altogether hopeless. I waited for the Scanning ability to reload and activated it again, watching the marker that appeared on the mini-map with curiosity:
Immolator. Meleyephatian automated security complex. Chance of making inoperable 67%. Total control chance 51%.
Not bad at all – my chances of taking control of one enemy robot was over half! And of course, I tried to do so immediately.
Psionic skill increased to level ninety-one!
Machine Control skill increased to level ninety-two!
Before I could even start to celebrate, though, the other four Immolators instantly turned and destroyed their mutinous counterpart! Damn!!! One hundred sixty thousand crystals out the window.
You have reached level eighty-seven!
You have received three skill points (total points accumulated: six).
Well, at least the game system generously rewarded my Gnat with experience for destroying the huge dangerous robot. The level-up slightly mitigated the bitter pill of disappointment. But Uline Tar wouldn’t be too happy. My furry friend already basically considered the Immolators our property and had even begun looking for a buyer. Oh well, it would be a lesson for the future: never count your chickens before they hatch.
I suspect that if I had simply turned off the robot, the result would have been similar – one of the Immolators acting strange would not have gone unnoticed and the others would have taken measures. No, I needed to try something a bit different... I took out my Prospector Scanner and a geological analyzer.
“Ayukh, cut power to the frigate! The defensive shield won’t be able to help us if the robots decide to attack anyway. And better to sit a bit in the dark than having to change out a bunch of fried electronics later!”
While the Navigator carried out his unusual assignment, I set my device to give an electromagnetic pulse at maximum power. And once the frigate’s interior was submerged in darkness, I activated a metal tripod.
Scanning skill increased to level fifty-seven!
Done! I looked at the results of the scan and saw four inactive Immolators with their limbs splayed out in contorted poses. Great! I should have done that right away! I ordered Ayukh to turn on the power again, then asked the experienced Navigator whether he could reprogram the guard robots so they wouldn’t attack us when turned back on.
“No, captain, I cannot. I don’t have either the experience or skills necessary to do that. You’ll have to ask Vasha and Basha. They’re both Heavy Robot Operators and are actually specialized in setup and control. But I can fold them up and load them into the hold. It won’t be hard at all. And just in case, I’ll disconnect the Immolators’ lead terminals from their power units.”
“Better have Denni Marko and Gerd Ayni do that. You have a more important job to do: go into the real world and get in touch with Uline, Avan Toi and Vasha and Basha. Do you still have their contact information? Okay, great! Find out where they set their respawn points. If they’re on the Kasti-Utsh III station, have them stay there and wait for us. If they changed them to Earth... Well, we’ll have to think up another way out. It’s too risky to land the starship on a massive planet without an experienced Starship Pilot. Although...” I turned to San-Doon, who was listening in but not understanding much. “This could be our Copilot’s chance to prove his mettle!”
* * *
“MASTER GNAT, I GOT it open!” Tini, impossibly satisfied, disconnected the code breaker’s interface cable from the panel of a massive ceramic-composite door that was blocking our path into the tunnel just a few seconds earlier.
I watched the two-foot-thick barrier slide into a wall slot then saw a cloud of ultra-fine dust flood out of the tunnel. By the looks of things, there was still some air inside the asteroid before we opened the external door. Watching the dust slowly settle and disperse, my gaze caught on an opaque distortion dome that flowed with all the colors of the rainbow – yes, the entrance to the underground complex was hidden behind active camouflage. After that, I read my ward’s information as he picked up his tools:
Tini Wi-Gnat. Miyelonian. Relict Faction. Level-90 Thief.
Ninety??? When did the clever little thief overtake me in level? I didn’t even notice. Though I had to admit that the Miyelonian youngster was using his main skills constantly. He seemed to be having an easier and easier time breaking down doors and turning off security systems. And the kitten’s confidence was noticeably improving alongside his abilities. He was already bold enough to jump into conversations with adults and voice his opinion. I praised my capable ward, turned my forehead light a bit brighter, then walked first into the tunnel, which led deep into the asteroid. However, it turned out to be quite short and ended in a cave packed full of all kinds of technology.
I even whistled in surprised delight. We had come to the right place! A nuclear generator. Two drilling installations. Six, no, a whole eight automatic mining rigs, and with them three enrichment plants. Several heavy all-terrain loaders. Storage was filled with metal containers ready for shipment. I opened the first container I came across and pointed my flashlight inside. Wow!!! The box was filled to the brim with platinum sponge! And there were fifteen others just like it!!! We just solved all our financial problems!!!
For the next half hour, along with the two Miyelonians, I walked between rows of active automatic mining rigs, which gave off a slight vibrating hum. I peered into huge vats of acid where chemical processes were separating inert platinum from other metals. One after the other, I opened the boxes of enriched metal and a blissful smile spread across my face from ear to ear.
I strongly reconsidered hauling away all the valuable equipment. We’d take the ore that was ready to sell, of course. We’d even take one loader on the frigate to replace the one we lost. But all these mining rigs, the nuclear power unit, the camouflage dome and enrichment plant we’d leave in working order. Let them keep doing their thing, just for me and my crew instead! In the real world, Ayukh could get in touch with Uline Tar, who was most experienced in these matters, and the Trader would get us platinum mining rights through all the proper channels. After that, defending the mine would fall on the shoulders of the official Geckho authorities.
Although... As far as I understood the apathetic and lazy Geckho administration, they wouldn’t lift a finger unless we provided the proper stimulus. No, we had to try a different tactic. For example, offer a share of the mining enterprise to Viceroy of Earth Kosta Dykhsh. We could offer the representative of the suzerains a third of the income from selling the platinum in return for protecting the mine! As far as I knew the viceroy’s character, he would find the funds for space security if it meant personal gain. He would even place a sizable garrison right here on the asteroid. That really was a promising idea. The illegal platinum miner, no matter who they may have been, would most likely not want to tangle with official authorities or Geckho troopers!
All that remained now was to make sure the secret of our discovery wouldn’t get out. I crouched down to make my height match the Miyelonians, and set the armored gloves of my space-suit onto my companions’ shoulders. I saw that both crew members were listening to me carefully, so I started pouring a generous amount of Magic Points into each sentence I spoke:
“Ayni, Tini, no one outside of our crew can find out about this! It’s very important! Our future depends on it! Uline and I need time to become the legal owners of all this equipment, and the less players know about it, the higher our chance of keeping it all in one piece. So no matter how badly you might want to boast about your achievements, not a word to anyone! And that especially goes for you, Tini. You know what I’m talking about.”
Psionic skill increased to level ninety-two!
Mysticism skill increased to level forty-two!
After a five-second delay, the kitten gave a nod. Loyalty to his captain and excitement at the chance of a big score outweighed his loyalty to the Great Priestess of the Miyelonian race, whom the kitten was still sending regular reports to about the voyages of the Listener Leng Gnat. Then Tini bared his little teeth, unable to contain his joy:
“Just think, the ‘big brazen mine owner,’ the Jarg mentioned earlier is now my captain!”
Gerd Ayni also snorted in satisfaction and confirmed that she would keep quiet. Just great!
“Then come help me carry these boxes! We’ll bring them on the frigate together with the loader. I don’t see any reason to stay on this asteroid longer than we need to. As soon as we have it all loaded up, let’s take off!”
