Havok Bringer

We initially expected the Exfil mission to take 11 days. This included travel time, prep time at the station, and EVAC of Tiff's body. We were currently six days into the journey. We had jumped two more times since the first day.

CJ and I had acclimated to the jumps somewhat. Elvis had us both take a shot in the med bay that would make the jumps easier on us and over time they just got easier. We still got nauseous, but it was definitely manageable.

We spent the last 4 days going between the VCR and the armory. Elvis had programmed several combat scenarios for me to become more comfortable both in and out of my armor. I felt like I had a good idea of how to use my armor and weapons now, but there was no virtual scenario that would prepare me for live-fire combat situations.

CJ and Elvis had been working non-stop on creating a controller station for the Havok Hound drop suit. CJ could physically pilot the armor, but since he was unenhanced by the system it was safer to just let him pilot the drop suit remotely.

I had asked Tiff if the AI-dampening field surrounding the containment facility would affect CJ’s ability to pilot the suit and she was confident that it would not. The Bloodhound would use a quantum connection, similar to how she transmits her secondary body. There would be a transmission node on the Bloodhound inside CJ’s controller hardware. The drop suit would be outfitted with the receiver node.

The details of Quantum communication were still a little complex for me to fully grasp. Basically, there was no chance of losing a signal, and Quantum entanglement allowed for the suit and controller station to be in sync with no time lag based on distance or based on any exterior factors such as wall thickness.

The basic explanation is that once two quantum particles interact, they become entangled. Once entangled, they act as though they are in a single quantum state. Whatever one does, the other does regardless of distance or external factors.

Now, there was a lot of other tech mumbo jumbo that I didn’t understand and honestly never would but, for now, I was confident that CJ could pilot the suit and would be able to assist in the extract. I did have a concern about the level of the suit though.

“So, Tiff, if we're facing Level 10 mechs, how will the suit stand up to them?” I asked as we walked back onto the bridge from a training session.

“The suits are bonded to the ship’s captain. They won’t match your level though; they will usually be one level lower than the commanding officer. The suits will level as you level, gaining health and increasing damage output,” she said as she walked to her station and sat down.

“The real concern is ammo conservation. The suits are capable of hand-to-hand combat, and we will ensure that CJ’s suit has some melee capability, but kinetic and plasma rounds need to be conserved,” she said while going over some data on her station display.

“CJ will have a fair amount of ammo at the ready. Just be aware that when he is out, he is out.”

I walked over to CJ’s station as she spoke, "Hear that, buddy? Make sure you keep an eye on those ammo reserves. I don’t need my backup running out of bullets,” I joked as I nudged his shoulder.

CJ laughed, “I got you, buddy. Elvis has been putting me through the wringer. We won’t be ready for live fire at the grinding station, but I will definitely be ready to support at the Exfil site.”

Elvis chimed in over the bridge PA,” Captain, will be intercepting the grind station in 1 hour. I suggest you prepare yourself for combat. Time to kill!”

“Got it, Elvis. I'll go to the armory and prepare for transport," I replied as I got up and walked to the elevator.

Elvis had already informed me that he wouldn’t be able to land on the grind station. It was the size of a small asteroid, approximately 3 miles in circumference, but the terrain wasn’t suitable for landing. Elvis would pilot me over in The Bloodhounds drop ship, which CJ had begun referring to as the PUP.

"Elvis, prep the Pup and I’ll be in the cargo bay in 20 minutes," I said.

I wanted to go to the armory and pick up a few grenades that I had seen the day before. I felt confident that my suit would handle things, but hey, who turns down a chance to use a few grenades in battle?

An hour later I was sitting in the cockpit of the Pup. The small drop ship was about the size of an Apache attack helicopter, but twice as wide. The nose sloped down at an angle and there were no windows, just a full holographic display splashed across the front bulkhead replicating a windshield. The rear of the ship had a tailpiece similar to any pre-drop earth aircraft. This made sense if the drop ship would be used for orbital entry. There were also wings on either side of the ship that, upon entering an atmosphere, the wings would split in two similar to what you might see on a dragonfly.

Again, I was no pilot, but Elvis had stated that the ship could handle itself both in open space and within the atmosphere of most planets that we might encounter. I wouldn’t be much use if we tried to enter the deep atmosphere of a large gas giant planet, or some planets that had liquid hydrogen as an atmosphere, but Elvis and Tiff both agreed that those planets wouldn’t be suitable environments for dungeons to operate anyhow so I didn’t dwell on it.

The Bloodhound had taken up orbit about 100 miles above the grind station and now it was time for Elvis to do his thing and bring me to the surface in the Pup.

Tiff spoke in my head, “Okay, I did an initial scan of the grind station. It looks like barren mountainous terrain surrounding one open valley. Have Elvis set you down on one of the rock shelves overlooking the valley so you can try to figure out how to best approach the mobs.”

“Any idea what the mobs are or what levels to expect?” I asked.

“I can’t tell from orbit; you will just have to try to evaluate the situation before engaging. I can tell you that you should only see mobs in a two-level zone and there generally aren’t bosses. Do expect a ton of them though.”

It only took about ten minutes to make the trip down. Elvis had scanned the topography and selected what he deemed as a safe landing spot.

“Brace for impact, Captain,” Elvis said as the ship's reverse thrusters engaged to soften the landing. We landed with a thud, but overall, it was pretty much what I expected.

“Elvis, activate the external cameras so I can see if there is anything close,” I said as I stood up from my safety straps in the back of the Pup.

I walked to the front of the ship to look at the display and couldn’t believe what I saw. In the valley below were hundreds of giant spider-like insectoids. If you have ever seen a camel spider on YouTube, that is a good interpretation, except they were the size of Labradors.

“Fucking spiders!” I said.

I hate spiders. Let me repeat that: I HATE SPIDERS. I had always had a fear of them. Something about them crawling around, able to get inside your clothes and bite you made my skin crawl.

“What are these things called?” I asked out loud, wondering what the species of alien would be.

“Oh, these are just giant spiders,” Tiff said. “There is another name for them, but the translation is just spider. They are pretty gross. Well...Good luck!” she said.

“Can't we find a different grind station?” I pleaded.

“Captain need to man up!” Elvis said over the ship’s speakers. “How can Captain lead other men if he is scared of little spiders?”

“Yeah Andy, quit being a bitch,” CJ said as he laughed over the com’s channel.

“Oh sure, that’s easy for you to say, CJ. You’re sitting 50 miles above this nightmare! There are hundreds of dog-sized spiders out there just waiting to poison me!” I shouted.

“These spiders don’t have venom, they in fact are very similar to the Camel spiders you might find in the Middle Eastern region of Earth, just a little bigger,” Tiff said.

“A little bigger?! A LITTLE BIGGER?!” I shouted.

“Deep breaths, deep breaths. You've got this,” I whispered to myself.

“Hey Elvis, how will I breathe without my armor?" I asked as I looked toward the sky on the display.

“Atmosphere is suitable for humans” Elvis replied, “may be cold though.”

“Well, I had complained about the heat on Earth for three years, so I guess I’ll have to be okay with it,” I said as I walked toward the back door.

As the back door of the Pup let down, I walked down the ramp. I was, in fact, on an asteroid. I could see grey and black stone peaks around me surrounding a grey stone valley. It was flat ground dotted by small mounds in all directions.

“Guess it’s time to get started,” I said.

There was about a 100-yard slant down to the valley from where I currently stood beside the Pup. I activated my armor and mentally changed my sidearm to its rifle configuration. I knelt and raised the rifle.

“Crack, crack, crack”, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. The spiders were Level 6 and 7 and one shot to center mass, making them explode in a pile of smoking green goo.

“This is easy!” I said.

“Look out!” Tiff shouted as one of the lab-sized spiders rushed me from behind.

“What the hell?!” I shouted as I stood and spun around, letting my rifle drop and equipping my daggers. The spider was fast. It rushed at me; it’s ten legs furiously pushed it toward me.

When it got 10 feet from me, it leaped at me, attaching itself to the front of my body, it’s legs wrapping around my torso.

“Oh shit!” I screamed. “I told you! I told you, you can't trust spiders. It's gonna eat my face!” I screamed as I struggled to keep the giant spider from biting my head off.

The spider was stupidly strong as it gripped my body, the pinchers on its head furiously trying to clamp down on my head and neck.

I had put my arms up reflexively as it jumped on me as I was trying to dislodge it from my body. As I fought the spider, I saw dots start to enter my mini map.

“Tiff? What do I do?!” I screamed, panicking.

“You've got to calm down and deal with the one on you right now. You still have 3 minutes on your armor. Kill this one and then retreat to the high ground before your armor expires," she said.

I grabbed the front leg of the spider attached to me and ripped it out of the body. The spider began thrashing wildly as it released its grip on me and fell to the ground. As it landed, I lunged at it and grabbed its giant pinchers. I wrapped my legs around the spider as we rolled on the ground.

“How does it feel, you icky bitch!?” I screamed as I twisted the pinchers and ripped the spider's head off.

I immediately jumped up as the spiders began swarming me. There were at least twenty-five in my general vicinity.

“Where the hell are they all coming from?!” I asked as I grabbed my rifle and mentally switched it back to its pistol form.

I began firing, easily taking them out as they rushed me. I was retreating toward the ship, trying to find a defensible position. As I looked down the slope, I saw them coming out of the mounds in the ground; there were at least 200.

They were funneling onto the sloped path up to the ship and I had an idea.

“Open the bay door, Elvis,” I shouted as I disengaged my armor and grabbed two of the grenades attached to my waist. I activated the grenades and, as I did, a stripe of light pulsed in the middle of the grenade. As I ran, it pulsed faster and faster.

As I approached the Pup, I turned and threw them at the hoard of approaching spiders. The grenades were almost completely silent. They made a noise similar to a bottle rocket going off then a round explosion lit up the blast area of both grenades. The blast radius was about the size of a football field.

“Holy shit! I’m glad for that increased strength; otherwise, I would have been cooked by my own grenade,” I said.

I ran back into the Pup. “Close the doors!" I screamed, “Elvis, can we get the hell out of here?!”

“Captain must complete the grind to receive experience,” Elvis replied.

“What does that mean? I don’t just get experience for the individual kills?” I asked.

Tiff spoke up, “We didn’t cover this, but grind stations must be fully cleared to gain experience. You need to look at your HUD. There should be some sort of counter telling you how many enemies remain.”

I inspected my HUD and, sure enough, in the right-hand bottom corner, there was a counter that read:

Spider 182/200

“Okay, I found it. I have 18 spiders left according to the counter,” I said. "I’ll let my armor recharge then I'll go back out and take care of them.”

I sat down in the cockpit chair and took a deep breath. “That was insane,” I said looking at my shaking hands.

“Hey guys, let's make sure we do a little more recon before the next grind station. I’m not really excited at the idea of going up against more giant space spiders.”