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THE STATUS PROMOTION came so unexpectedly I actually got thrown. So I was a Leng? I had basically been wanting and expecting this for a while, but still it knocked me off track. Especially when Imran said that the mini-map was no longer showing me as an ally, just a neutral player. Then I checked my own information:
Leng Gnat. Human. Faction [undefined]. Level-79 Listener.
What did that mean? Was I no longer part of the Human-3 Faction? And where would I come out of a virt pod in the real world? Especially if I chose one of the stranger options like Spaceport or La-Fin... After all, the Geckho’s virt pods were clearly not on Earth. Like what if I found myself on one of the Geckho planets which, due to high gravitation, were not always a place humans could survive? Or in the magocratic world where, based on my wayedda’s words, the heir to the huge La-Fin fortune wouldn’t survive one hour due to the huge number of ill-wishers. No, I definitely shouldn’t rush into a risky experiment and change faction! And the eight free stat points needed to be spent with my mind at ease, after careful consideration of all the possible consequences.
I left my companions and entered the negotiation chamber. I had seen such a circular room with mirror walls before in the depths of the Un-Tesh comet on the Geckho military base, but still I froze. It was just stunning to look at my innumerable reflections at various angles. The light went out and a hologram of the almighty Geckho started glowing in the air in front of me. He was wearing a luxurious suit of ceremonial armor and seated atop his throne. My ears laid back flat when I heard the thundering voice of the upset Kung:
“Finally! I guess you were in no rush to our meeting. I was getting sick of waiting, Gerd Gnat... Or is it Leng now? When did you have time for that?” his angry tone, clearly false and for show, changed to sincere and bordering on surprise.
Demonstrating submission and respect for the all-powerful sovereign of Earth, I got down on one knee:
“My Kung, I rushed to the comms point as soon as I got medical treatment after a rough landing,” I didn’t delve into the details and tell the vaunted military leader about the security mishap on my peripheral planet.
“Yes, I can see you’re injured. Alright, no matter. Have you got the delivery? Is it the exact thing you told the Trader?”
“Yes, my Kung,” I pulled the heavy polished black stone out of my inventory and showed it to him with my good hand. “A map of all parts of the galaxy known to the Meleyephatians with a complete logistics scheme for their horde in maximum detail. It shows all space docks both in the game and the real world. It contains blueprints for starships and weapons, the coordinates of military bases, secret training centers, manufacturing facilities and mines of important resources. You can also find the coordinates of real-world data centers where their players’ virt pods are located, and a full guide to the real Meleyephatian players behind characters in the game that bends reality. Plus there’s lots of other stuff both on the Meleyephatians and the other races. Let your specialists sort it out.”
I could see the gruesome fleet commander’s eyes start to glimmer as his nostrils started flaring out in excitement. You don’t have to be as wise as Solomon to guess just how valuable this all was to the Kung.
“What do you want for the drive, human?”
A seemingly normal question asked in a normal tone, however...
Danger Sense skill increased to level fifty-five!
Danger Sense skill increased to level fifty-six?!
With a sudden attack of clarity, I understood that I would not be allowed to leave the negotiation chamber alive if I couldn’t make an agreement with the commander. And they’d be able to kill me again and again because my respawn point was on the spaceport grounds and the Geckho knew that perfectly well. Since landing, I had spent all my time on land under their control. Fortunately, I was not going to test Kung Waid Shishish’s patience and generosity even without those warnings:
“Let this be my gift to the great Kung! Everything that strengthens the Geckho benefits my race, so I will do anything to help my suzerains in the difficult war with the Meleyephatians!”
“You got that right, it is difficult...” the Commander of the Second Strike Fleet gave a heavy sigh and thought. But not long after he lit up: “Leng Gnat, it cannot be like that! Such a valuable gift demands equivalent gratitude on my part. Name your price!”
“Well, if my Kung insists...”I pretended to think even though the answer was on the tip of my tongue before I even entered the room. “I request this valuable information be copied and sent to the Commander of the Miyelonian Fleet Leng Keetsie-Myau!”
“I don’t get it. Why should I make a competitor stronger?” The fearsome fleet commander grew severe again and even squinted.
I had to hurriedly explain my request before he flared up and said no:
“My Kung, the thing is that this information was obtained by Miyelonians, or more accurately an embedded agent of theirs. To cover their tracks, the data drive was sent through a long chain of middle-men of all sorts of races and, at a certain point, I became one of them. However, realizing the true value of the data, I decided to send it not to the commander of the Miyelonians, but to my Kung. And now I’m seriously afraid of consequences because Truth Seeker Leng Keetsie-Myau is not the kind of player you can just fool unpunished. What’s more, the Miyelonians and Geckho are allies in this war, and helping your allies will be good for the Geckho. So that is precisely why I ask for this valuable data to be forwarded to Leng Keetsie-Myau and for you to say you got it from Gnat. That is plenty reward for me.”
“So you’re sure the Miyelonians will repay you so generously that you won’t even need a reward from my race?!” I nearly went deaf when the Kung raised his voice.
Danger Sense skill increased to level fifty-seven!
To be honest, I didn’t understand what made the fearsome commander lose it this time. Either Kung Waid Shishish’s pride and ego were wounded by the fact that someone else was not bound by financial troubles and could possibly pay more than him. Or he simply didn’t like my game and felt I was playing them off each other. It was probably the latter, although I purposely answered as if it were the first:
“My Kung, I never intended to wound the pride of the great Geckho race! It’s just that I already own a starship and know perfectly how much it costs to repair. So I’m afraid to even imagine how colossal your expenditures must be to repair the Second Strike Fleet after the bloody battles with the Meleyephatians. And that means it would be utterly improper for me to ask the Kung for a monetary reward. The Miyelonians on the other hand haven’t spent much on this war yet, so let them pay to repair the damage my frigate sustained in the landing!”
Here I plucked the right strings in his soul, I could sense that right away. The huge problems involved in repairing his severely damaged fleet had the commander worried, as did a lack of financing. The fearsome commander, covered in thick dark fur, stopped baring his teeth and finally shifted from anger to sweetness:
“Alright, have it your way, Leng Gnat! Especially because I already owe you one. Thanks to your timely warning, I managed to get half the garrison and two-thirds of the ships off the Un-Tesh base. So I’ll send that along to Keetsie and tell her you asked me to do it. By the way, the Great One, as the Miyelonians call her, became a Kung not long ago, much the same as me. They say she even has a decent chance of becoming leader of the Union of Prides. So your reward...” Kung Waid Shishish went silent midsentence, watching my anxious face with a smirk, “now that you’re a Leng and can have your own faction, is that the great Geckho race shall guarantee the absolute safety of one node of your choosing. Hell, make it three nodes! Anyone that attacks those nodes shall be an enemy of the Geckho and will be immediately destroyed!!! I’ve said all I have to say. Give the package to the Diplomat of my race, what’s his name, that young clever fellow. Tell him to find a way to get it to me as fast as possible. And tell him as soon as he’s done, I appoint him viceroy of the whole planet. As it is, with this space war I have no time to deal with the periphery myself.”
* * *
“WELL, HOW DO I LOOK?” Minn-O La-Fin was for some reason very invested in that question.
My wayedda, her lump gone without a trace, had changed out of her spacesuit and into a black and lilac dress of an unusual and I might even say old-fashioned cut with lots of skirts, lace sleeves and a high uncomfortable collar. And as far as I could tell, a Sio-Mi-Dori had been sent especially for that dress. One of the Dark Faction heavy assault antigravs quickly returned to the space port and a pilot girl with ash gray skin, bowing low at the waist to my wife, handed her a big packet of clothing.
Before answering, I scanned my companion’s dress for any microphones or other surveillance equipment, as well as poison capsules or explosives. I remembered catching the Dark Faction red handed doing that before. Nevertheless, it was all clean.
“Idiotic cut, this dress hides your fantastic young body and doesn’t work for you at all,” I preferred to tell the truth rather than flatter my wife. “You’d never wear something like that unless it was truly necessary. I guess it’s some kind of regalia to emphasize your status, right?”
The Dark Faction Princess was not offended, in fact she smiled:
“Exactly right, oh husband! This ancient style was laid out hundreds of years ago, and mine is in the coloring of a married woman of a ruling magical house. The shape of the collar indicates my status as an upper aristocrat, and lilac and black are the heraldic colors of the La-Fin dynasty.”
“Oh my! I’ll remember that. Okay then, emphasizing your high status will be worth something in the upcoming negotiations. But I really hope your laws don’t require me to also change into something so pompous and uncomfortable.”
“Oh they do,” my companion smiled, “but you’d never agree to wear all the colorful pantaloons, frilly blouses and long robes, so I didn’t even suggest it. What’s more, in your black space armor you look very respectable even with a broken arm.”
I gave her a kiss on the cheek and looked at the time. There were four minutes left until the start of the peace negotiations with the Dark Faction. I brought Gerd Minn-O La-Fin and my business partner Uline Tar with me. I brought my junior wife as a specialist in the norms of the magocratic world, a Princess of the ruling house of the First Directory and just as a translator of the language of her people. Uline then I needed as the owner of the starship, representative of the Geckho race and a member of the Tar-Layneh merchant dynasty to underline my profile among the suzerains of mankind. We had agreed to meet on the third floor of the dispatcher tower, then go down together into the restaurant.
“For some reason Uline is late...” my wife was nervous, clearly counting the remaining minutes.
“Our furry friend is dying patterns on her fur,” I whispered to Minn-O, “for Geckho ladies it’s basically like make-up. But the process of drawing the patterns is considered nearly intimate, only very close friends are allowed to help. So I’m just surprised Uline Tar entrusted that role to the Miyelonian Gerd Ayni. Ah, there is Uline now!”
The captain’s assistant walked out of the elevator and, seeing Minn-O and I, came toward us in a quick pace.
“Hrmph, I barely made it! By the way, there were three people in the elevator with me who had the same skin color as Minn-O. One of them was basically naked, the largest and most muscular. I presume those are the people we’ll be negotiating with?”
Basically naked? Strange. Although Uline’s words were fully confirmed when we went a floor lower. There was a huge giant over six foot five with a shock of black hair and impressive muscles like a bodybuilder. He was wearing nothing but leather shorts with a wide belt which had empty holsters and knife sheathes on it. And good thing. Weaponry was not allowed at this meeting.
Gerd Ui-Taka. Human. La-Fin Faction. Level-63 Strategist.
Clearly, General Ui-Taka’s rescue raft had just reached the shore, because my counterpart hadn’t even found time to change clothes. Although it was also possible that Ui-Taka had purposely chosen this style of dress to display his power and unbridled strength. It really was impressive, what could I say...?
Mental Fortitude skill increased to level sixty-nine!
What was this? Was someone trying to attack me mentally?
“Hey, come on. No magic!” my shout of rage was aimed at the General’s companions, two mages in identical black robes:
Gerd Avir-Syn La-Pirez. Human. La-Fin Faction. Level-109 Psionic Mage.
Gerd Mac-Peu Un-Roi. Human. La-Fin Faction. Level-96 Mage Diviner.
These were some no-nonsense dudes! And dangerous. Especially the first one: the wrinkly old man had smoldering blue eyes and I could feel with my skin the deadly hatred emanating from him. The second was a young man also with glowing magical eyes, but his gaze was not hostile, more studying like I was some rare and engrossing little animal. By the way, I now saw their faction as “La-Fin” rather than “Dark Faction.” Was that because I’d become a Leng and was for now “out of the system,” until I chose a new team?
“Grandpa Avir-Syn, magic is also a weapon and is forbidden at negotiations!” the Princess reminded the geezer, and he threw his hood down low, covering his face and no longer boring into me with his smoldering gaze.
Astrolinguistics skill increased to level eighty-five!
Grandfather?! So this ghastly big old man was my wife’s grandfather on her father’s side?! Minn-O had told me about the tragic death of her parents in a terror attack, and her father’s family did happen to be La-Pirez. Hrm, both of my wife’s grandfathers, Thumor-Anhu and this Avir-Syn looked like they came out of a horror movie. Who was to say what dirty magical tricks this old man was capable of? So I quickly tossed all three free stat points into Mental Fortitude, raising it to seventy-two. After all, extra mental defense was always good when talking with a psionic!
“Yes, no magic!” Gerd Ui-Taka turned to his companions. “We’re just talking. Where shall we go Gerd... Leng Gnat???”
I pointed to the farthest table, separated from the rest. Geckho Diplomat Kosta Dykhsh was already sitting there. We all walked closer. Wow!!! Even I was impressed, even though I was generally quite hard to surprise with luxury and abundance. It wasn’t enough that the table was straining under the weight of the food itself, all the plates, platters and even glasses were made of red monetary crystals of various shapes and values attached together. I never suspected objects could be made of Geckho currency like LEGOs.
“Leng Gnat, admit it, is this your doing?” the Diplomat asked strictly, pointing at his still empty plate which was worth around three thousand crystals.
Uline Tar answered instead, taking a big red salad bowl and studying it in the light with intrigue, staring at the dozens of skillfully interlaced crystals:
“No, we had nothing to do with this. This must be the administration of the local spaceport awkwardly attempting to make up for not providing security during landing.”
“Yes we saw your... let’s call it a landing,” snorted the young mage, demonstrating a brilliant knowledge of Geckho.
He repeated it in his own language, and his two companions also broke down laughing. The general gave himself a generous splash of wine in a glass and pronounced a long phrase I didn’t totally understand, so Minn-O had to help me with translation:
“Gerd Ui-Taka now thinks the starship will be out of the game for a long time because we don’t have the money to repair it. And all this garish luxury on display now won’t be much help to repair the frigate even if we take all the plates and glasses apart and use them as crystals.”
And when I translated that to Uline Tar, it was our turn to laugh. To start the Trader showed the Diplomat then everyone else her tablet, showing an official contract with the spaceport administration saying they would repair our frigate. It gave a concrete timeframe for the repair as well: five days.
“And I hope the future viceroy,” Uline said pointing at her furry compatriot, “will guarantee the quality of his underlings’ work.”
“Of course, now it’s a question of honor,” Kosta Dykhsh confirmed. “Leng Gnat can be sure that his ship will be ready within that timeframe.”
Authority increased to 56!
“What’s more,” Uline put the tablet away, took an item from her inventory and demonstrated it in her open palm, “you don’t know my human business partner well. Gnat has a knack for finding money everywhere, even on a pirate station or in open space. Just this journey he earned me... what did you call this Leng Gnat? An or-ranzh?”
“A blood orange,” I corrected my friend. The “fruit” she was referring to was a highly valuable crystal, Uline’s share of the reward for destroying the pirate frigate. Worth a whole million, it really was reminiscent of the red citrus fruit in size and shape.
“So you’re deeply mistaken about the idea that we don’t have money. But most importantly,” Uline turned back to her compatriot Kosta Dykhsh and spoke passionately almost like an animal roaring as it tears into some meat, “future viceroy, tell these human aboriginals what my clan Tar-Layneh is known for.”
The diplomat looked embarrassed and pushed his plate away, chewing the food in his mouth, then answered with clear deference to my partner:
“Clan Tar-Layneh controls a significant part of trade routes in the known part of the galaxy, more than five hundred starships and is considered one of the richest Geckho families and trading clans. Their financial reserves are basically unlimited. By the way, Uline. It would be a great honor for me to speak with you separately after these negotiations.”
“Endless financial reserves...” General Ui-Taka frowned, nervously tapping the tips of his fingers on the table and casting an extremely unhappy gaze at the Mage Diviner, which made the young wizard tense up in fear. “Sure. That doesn’t play much of a role. In five whole days I can wipe the Human-3, Human-6 and even the distant Human-1 Factions off the face of the planet. Diviner, confirm!”
Astrolinguistics skill increased to level eighty-six!
Alright then, I understood that whole long phrase completely! Gerd Mac-Peu Un-Roi froze motionless, just his pupils were darting very quickly in his wide-open blue eyes. Ten or fifteen seconds passed before the young mage sharply exhaled and, trying not to look at the General, spoke without too much confidence:
“Something has changed in the lines of the future... Just three hours ago I saw a ninety-three percent chance of total victory over a coalition of enemies. And that was with Gnat in a starship in orbit. But now even with a defective frigate I see no chance for a complete military victory. Zero percent. I mean, we are still stronger and can dominate on all fronts, but I don’t see total victory in any of the possible futures.”
I couldn’t understand everything there, but my wife translated. The Strategist then started nervously clenching and unclenching his fists. It seemed to me he was imagining breaking the young mage’s neck because of his earlier inaccurate prognosis. Nevertheless, when Gerd Ui-Taka started speaking (with Minn-O translating), hid ideas were completely sensible:
“An endless war of attrition without the possibility of final victory is not at all what we were after. And it is actually very good that all three of you are not directly in the Human-3 Faction and can look at the situation with an impartial eye and no fanaticism. I’m reporting the facts as I see them. In fact, the side I led was victorious...”
Here I wanted to object, but Geckho Diplomat Kosta Dykhsh suggested I first allow my opponent to finish his speech and argue only after.
“The enemy coalition has fallen apart. The Human-6 Faction lost its capital and is basically defeated. I specifically ordered not to destroy their coastal hexagons because living players have much higher prospects as vassals than the NPC’s that would move into the empty territories. The Human-1 Faction... Yes, their arrival was a surprise and rolled back the timeframe of my victory, but they also took a big kick to the teeth and sent a Diplomat to agree to terms for freeing their many prisoners. And finally, the main enemy...”
The General splashed himself a bit more young rosé and, savoring the bouquet with clear satisfaction, continued:
“The Human-3 Faction’s defenses have been destroyed both on the southern and northern fronts. The two southern hexagons are already lost and the cliff hexagon to the north only survived because I was in a good mood and announced the negotiations and ceasefire. I also allowed the Second Legion to escape a deadly trap after they were already crushed to dust. So show some appreciation for my mercy for the vanquished! But I don’t think any of you will doubt that my army won this war. And thus I should be the one to dictate the terms of the peace!”
After making sure my opponent was finished, I asked the Geckho observer to listen carefully to my answer because a few parts might need confirmation. Kosta Dykhsh set his unfinished wine glass aside and told me he was listening carefully. Okay then, I was ready to respond. The only hard part was not to accidentally use magic. I really didn’t want to be accused of breaking the rules.
“So then, incorrect initial data led General Ui-Taka to rushed and deeply mistaken conclusions. Let me begin with the fact you cannot possibly win now, which so surprised the experienced Mage Diviner,” I pointed at Gerd Mac-Peu Un-Roi, who was listening to my words in the most attentive fashion. “Yes, it is impossible for our side to achieve a military victory! I have the right, given by the master of Earth Kung Waid Shishish himself, to select three nodes which the Geckho will defend as if they were their own.”
“Impossible! The Geckho do not interfere in their vassals’ squabbles, it’s the law!” Psionic Mage Avir-Syn objected heatedly, to which I simply suggested that the Geckho Diplomat weigh in.
“Yes, Leng Gnat speaks the truth! He may select three nodes for us to officially protect. Anyone who attacks them will be at war with the whole Geckho state,” the suzerains’ Diplomat declared, which caused an extreme flurry in my opponents’ ranks.
Authority increased to 57!
“Beyond that, my starship will be repaired sooner or later. And that’s where things get interesting... No, I’m not planning to break our agreement and destroy La-Fin Faction citadels. Instead I’ll attack the nodes of the La-Varrez or La-Shin factions from space, the other corulers of your humanity! I’ll attack the nodes of all other mages I can find! And I’ll give these influential mages a choice: either their states declare war on the Second Directory or their factions shall be wiped out in the game that bends reality! A final death in the game is equivalent to dying in the real world, so the mage rulers will listen. They simply won’t have any other choice.”
Based on how the vaunted general lost control and started cursing ornately (“greasy hooker’s ass” was nowhere near the limit here), this was an unexpected move. No longer hiding my satisfied smirk, I built on that:
“Oh yeah, I still haven’t said the most important part! Before that, I’ll make a speech to the magocratic world and, as head of the First Directory and legal heir to the La-Fin family, I will officially accuse the ruler of the Second Directory General Ui-Taka of the bloody terror attack at the funeral of great mage Thumor-Anhu La-Fin and the attempted murder of my wife Minn-O La-Fin! How many governments are now at war with the Second Directory? Four of thirty, I believe. Well, soon General Ui-Taka will have many, MANY more enemies!!!”
