Chương 14: Ch. 13 - Eggs & Baskets

[1st FLOOR] [BOSSES: 2] A thought did cross my mind as the familiar first floor came into focus. Why didn't I just wait a day? If dad's old squad mates were on the way back because of a reset, wouldn't it have been better to wait it out? I unsealed my respirator with a groan.

"What is the matter?" asked Caddie.

"I should've waited for dad's old crew instead of jumping head first to being here. This was such a dumb idea. Alone too."

"Although it is true we just proved your ineptitude, it was also wise to not put all your faith on something that is not a certainty. I'm showing deep levels of concern for Casandra."

"She's my mother, Caddie. Of course."

"Let me finish. Because you show deep concern, it is important to cast a wide net of possibility. Let me give you an example. What if they, the crew in question, returned but they don't have enough to share? Or what if they simply refuse? Then you are left in a state where your habitat is at risk because of inaction. Comfort is the enemy of progress." I didn't know what to say. I was more awestruck that Caddie wasn't going out of his way to make me feel like crap. It actually made me feel, better.

"I wasn't expecting that?"

"You like it? I found some quotes on the remnants of your internet and cobbled it up to something simple, that even you can understand."

"And he's back."

"I never left." The screen was dark and I was having a hard time adjusting. I remembered the loot, and that one of them was thermal imaging. But I couldn't activate it.

"What gives?" I asked.

"I can't access thermals."

"It's because you never upgraded. You need a repair bay for all auto-installs and improvements." My heart sank. So all I had was a head-mount flashlight that I couldn't use to see in the dark and a dagger that wasn't attached to my Frame.

"What about the pilot augmentations?" I knew the answer already but I just needed to hear it.

"You need to be in a safe zone that can turn your augmentations into a usable item. I recommend a necklace." I took a long breath to compose myself. I wanted to freak out, but I was already here. I just needed to earn some credits and get out just shy of one solar.

"I can still use the dagger right?"

"Yes, but if your grip loosens it won't return to your holster. It also can't use the triggered ability until you equip it. No wait, it appears Luna has taken the liberty of equipping the dagger for you. And the head mount light. I think it improves her reliability by a measure of double and makes up for the recklessness of a certain someone." I got the distinct feeling he wasn't going to let this go. Right now, though, Luna did equip my gear, saving me.

"No. After what happened to Jacob and Eric. Her being here would only put her in danger too. On top of that, she finished last in her class and she didn't have the competition I had," I said, focusing on the light to turn it on. How did I not notice it. I shook my head to shake the cobwebs and focus. I pushed forward, the light doing it's best to shine ahead. There wasn't much in the way of vision that it gave. It was also a danger to me, shining a beacon that I was there.

A few turns around corridors and I managed to find an enemy. A familiar site for the first floor. [lvl 2 Kabal Sentry]: These things float around in pairs, sometimes packs to scout incoming dangers for some denizens of the third floor. The most common enemy of the first, they are created, nurtured and sent off. Capable of basic defense, they do a good job of warning those of the third floor who is coming. And guess who tells the denizens of the sixth?

It was already shooting at me as soon as the description flashed away. A leap, jump and slide and the dagger sliced the bot on the underbelly. With the same motion I kicked the one it was paired with, pulling the dagger and plunging it into the other. This was a good a time as any to test it out. The second I pulled the trigger, the metal warped and caved in on itself. What was the sentry became a ball of misshapen metal bent and pressed against each other. The dagger slipped off with no resistance.

The mana bar was slowly recharging and at this rate I'd be topped off again in about two minutes. Two minutes was a long time and it explained the cells. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The other bot, the one I sliced from underneath, shot and grazed my armor plating, taking a bit off the integrity bar. It was still functional, so I plunged the dagger and clicked the trigger, turning it to a metal basket ball.

At the bottom of the screen was a fast bar for inventory, the first three already had an item in them. It wasn't enough damage to justify using a very limited resource to repair it. Granted, I also had no idea how much it would repair.

"Did you move stuff into the hot bar?" I asked.

"Of course," said Caddie.

"You weren't going to do it, so I happily went ahead and made it easier for you to use them." Caddie didn't waste a moment, grabbing everything off the ground from the sentry kills. Mostly scrap metal.

"What are you doing when you loot? I see a bright light and then it's gone."

"I mark each item for deletion, create a log of what it is, and store that information for re-printing."

"Wait…so you're not actually looting? You're deleting that stuff?"

"Of course! Everything can be broken down into atoms or ones and zeros. With the exception of a soul. That, seemingly, cannot be reproduced."

"Tell me later," I said, pushing forward seeing more floating lights. The first floor units weren't hard to deal with, especially with the dagger. I took out as many pairs as I could getting through. The energy bar barely dipped and it had to be because I didn't have any armor. I was zippy but one errant shot would be bad news. Each fight got me closer and closer to exhaustion, and it's not like I had time to slow down. A blue portal was surrounded by a pack of Sentries and those required a squad.

They spotted me and I had to turn the jets to get away, taking that errant shot I was so careful to avoid. After getting away, I needed to take a moment, just to take stock when I was able to find another portal. It was more for the mental exhaustion. [REST TIMER]: 17: 48: 36 It was only when I noticed the timer that I realized I had been fighting non-stop for about five hours. There were so many more than when I first arrived. It had to be because of the reset.

[lvl 3 ENGRAVED DAGGER OF IMPLOSION] Somehow, that made me feel a little better. Seeing the level go up meant I was, yup a level 3 frame now. I did notice that I didn't have to pull the trigger to kill a sentry anymore.

"I can see where your intelligence lies," said Caddie. I interrupted before he could continue.

"Alright, that's enough. I'm tired of you calling me dumb! How would you like it if I called you a hunk of junk?"

"But I am not, junk. I have shown great value."

"That's not the point! I'm fighting hard as hell right now and all I'm getting are off handed comments. No, I didn't do that well in school. But in the academy, when it came to piloting, there was only one other person that was better out of two hundred. So, I'm sick and tired of being called dumb."

"It's simply a measure, Stefano. Earlier you claimed that Luna wouldn't be of value as she finished last in her class. Need I remind you that you did as well. You were second in piloting skill, but overall, you were last." Caddie may as well had slapped me in the face. It probably would've hurt less. Technically last was still last. But it was only the grades part, still it wasn't the best. Any other year. Literally any other year I would've been first.

I didn't say anything for a while, simply watching the energy bar tick up while the timer ticked down.

"You have received some achievements. A safe room would be of great benefit to you," said Caddie. If I kept going, maybe, just maybe I could solo every floor. I was making good progress. I was a good pilot. Or at least the early ones. I'd prove I was better than her.

"Your heart rate is increasing. Are you experiencing an anxiety attack? Deep breaths and calm thoughts would help," continued Caddie. Soft sounds played in the cockpit of freaking elevator music. It was so aggravating, I couldn't help but laugh. But somehow, that did calm me down from my rage. It was a good a time as any to see how much a repair cell would fix. A tap on the hotbar upon opening the menus had Caddie spit out a blob of… stuff. Like it sneezed.

Some liquid ran down the senors, filling in areas of damage with a weird coating. It slimmed it's way all the way down to the ground and dispersed into dust. The whole process took maybe a few seconds. Too long to use in combat and the repair itself was maybe ten percent of the bar. It wasn't great, but it was something. With the health bar sitting at 80 percent, it felt like enough for now. A cooldown on the repair cell popped over the item in the hotbar. A countdown from 120.

"A warning would be nice," said Caddie.

"Sudden commands like that are jolting to me, just so you're aware." Still mildly perturbed, I didn't say anything, but reveled that annoyance wasn't one way.

"I have to ask," I started.

"Why were you so insistent on me getting Luna to join. You know they can assign someone to me. Someone with better piloting skills?"

"Yes," said Caddie.

"But they could get another Team Leader and you wouldn't have a squad. Right now, the squad is under your command. Filling it quickly would be ideal. You need at least two for a squad, yes?" It was right.

"How did you know that?"

"I read, Stefano. It's when words are on a page and-" I pressed the repair button on the hotbar again. The goo ran down the mech, healing it another 10 percent.

"What…Did you do that on purpose?" It sounded sniffly.

"Call me dumb and I'll keep doing it." The silence of the moment was nice but I wasn't a fan of awkward tension.

"Do we have a deal?"

"I have considered your proposal and found it acceptable. You will no longer be referred to as dumb, insipid, lacking erudition, moronic, stupid, inept, stooge-like, dingbat-" I had to interrupt.

"Okay, I get it. How many of these did you have ready to spout off?"

"The entire dictionary. I'm amending my definitions of you. From now on, you're just Stefano." I would've shaken it's hand if it had one.

"And I promise, the only time I'll hit the hotbar without telling you first is when we're in combat."

"Then I would like to amend this agreement. I can call you some synonym of stupid when you do or are going to do something stupid." I thought about it for probably longer than I needed to. A pack of sentries, about eight of them veered the corner, red dots pulsing on the map in the corner of my screen.

"Deal," I said. Jumping into the portal for the second floor.