Earth Force (Relict Legacy Book 1) Read online

  “The biggest problem the world faces right now is the Warped,” Nori said. “It’s been six months since the Calamity and they seem to be getting bigger and more aggressive. The snake thing we killed was the first level five I have seen. At this rate, in a few weeks, they’ll be strong enough to punch through the shelter barricades and kill everyone inside. I think we have to figure out how to increase the shelter’s defenses.”

  Bulco shook his head. “We got a grounded, barely functioning ship and a limited supply of alien tech. It’s not enough to upgrade every human shelter in the city, let alone the country. If we cannibalize this ship, maybe we can scrape together more weapons like your Disruptor. Then we can form up a hunting party that will sweep through the city and make it safe again.”

  Nathan shook his head and looked at Lana expectantly.

  Nori wrinkled her forehead.

  Lana coughed embarrassedly. “Nathan thinks you’re both thinking too small. We can’t do everything ourselves. Even if we save the city, what about the rest of the world? You know the saying: instead of giving a fish to the hungry …”

  “Teach them how to level up and use their Paths to better their lives on their own,” Bulco finished.

  Lana looked offended. “I was going to say; ‘give them fishing poles and teach them how to fish’, but yeah, that’s sort of what I was aiming for.”

  Bulco raised one eyebrow. “You got all that from a single look?”

  Lana shrugged. “We’re like two peas in a pod.”

  “And just how does Mr. Pea suggest we go on implementing this plan?”

  Nathan made a motion, like a plane lifting off.

  “I think I get it,” Nori said. “We can use the ship’s shuttle to fly around. With all other forms of communication and transportation down, getting around quickly is super useful. It's a start.”

  Nathan nodded approvingly.

  “Before we check out this shuttle of yours,” the large man said with a gleam in his eye, “mind showing me the engine room?”

  They led him through to the next door, and Bulco stood, frozen in place, his eyes as wide as saucers as he took in the sight of the alien engine. “Dear god …” he whispered. “It’s beautiful.”

  Nori elbowed him. “Do you two want to be left alone?”

  “Eh? What?” He snapped out of his reverie.

  “Think you can fix it?” she asked.

  “Hmmm, I’m not sure. Let me check.”

  The large man reached his hands into the air above the pit. Several light console and holographic monitors flickered to life, displaying zoomed in images of the engine and rows of unfamiliar symbols.

  Nori blinked in surprise. “You can do that? None of us could locate any sort of interface here.”

  Bulco smirked. “Looks like being the Navigator only goes so far. As soon as I entered the room, I got a notification on my HUD asking if I want to run a diagnostic, that’s when everything turned up. Here, I think this is what we’re looking for.”

  He swiped at one of the holographic screens, and the weird symbols rearranged themselves into plain English.

  Ship hull: multiple fractures detected.

  Power core: containment breach detected. Emergency shutdown enacted to prevent catastrophic failure.

  Thrusters: offline.

  Null Tunnel matrix: destroyed.

  “Hmm, interesting,” Bulco said. “Looks like the main power’s busted - see that crack in the casing? Without it, the ship’s going nowhere—the emergency power cells can only operate the ship’s internal systems. The thrusters look alright, but the sudden loss of power caused the controls to go on the fritz. No idea how to fix that one. So, to answer your question, Nori, I might be able to do something about the hull fractures, but other than that, it looks like the ship’s busted badly. And that’s not even taking into consideration the Null Tunnel drive. There’s no fixing that one—it needs to be replaced.”

  Lana frowned. “The what now drive?”

  Bulco shrugged. “Hell if I know. I just read the name off my interface. The actual parts are beyond my Engineer score to identify.”

  “It’s a subatomic tunneling device,” Nori said automatically.

  Lana arched her brow. “Eh?”

  Nori looked embarrassed. “I don’t know exactly how it works. It causes something called ‘subatomic particle disjunction’, which opens a corridor through space.”

  “You mean like subspace?”

  “I guess you can call it that.”

  “It would be cool to be able to fly away to a different star system.” Lana sighed ruefully. “But I guess that’s just a pipe dream if we can’t even get the main power to work. Any chance we can fix that one?”

  Bulco shook his head. “The broken casing can’t be fixed; it has to be replaced. Do you happen to have the number of an intergalactic spare parts shop that delivers?”

  Lana looked at him, crestfallen.

  Bulco chuckled. “Take it easy, girl. I might not be able to fix the ship, but there’s still some good news. He walked over to the workbench and caressed it as if it was a lovable pet. “This baby will let me do things I couldn’t do with our own technology. Here, check this out.”

  He took The Puncher off this arm and laid it on the table. A holographic representation of the item appeared hovering above it. With quick, fluid motions, Bulco manipulated the hologram, causing slender robotic arms to pop out of the table and start tinkering with the device with a shower of sparks. A few moments later the process was complete. Bulco picked up The Puncher and proudly showed them the now much sleeker-looking device. “I shaved off nearly thirty percent of its weight and replaced its spring system with the alien version of hydraulics.”

  The Puncher, +4 Strength when punching (Prerequisite: level 10)

  “Impressive.” Nori nodded.

  “Thanks,” he said, putting the device back on his hand. “Let’s go check that shuttle of yours.”

  They walked back through the bridge and entered the door leading toward the shuttle bay.

  Bulco frowned as he noticed the pilot’s blue bristle-covered corpse and looked over at Nori. “Is that where you got your ray gun from?”

  “Yes,” she answered briskly. “The shuttle’s on the other side of that door.”

  The door opened to reveal the shuttle’s round interior.

  “Hey, that’s interesting,” Bulco said. “I see an option to upgrade this thing.”

  “Upgrade? How?” Nori asked.

  “It’s hard to explain. It’s like in a computer game. A new interface popped up, showing me the shuttle and the available components I have to work with. I guess everything you kids found in that storage room counts. At the moment, I can add a mechanical arm to it. Says here, it’ll have a two-ton lifting capacity.”

  “That could be useful,” Lana said.

  “Let’s first figure out how to get it out of the ship,” Nori said.

  The four went outside and walked underneath the wrecked exit chute.

  “Yeah, this thing’s busted alright.” Bulco nodded. “Shouldn’t be a hard fix though. The workbench had a special tool that can straighten the metal.”

  Lana turned to him, surprise all over her face. “Wait, so we don’t need to use your car for that?”

  “No. Why would we?”

  The woman closed her eyes and sighed. “We thought we’d need a powerful machine to have a chance at straightening the hull.”

  “Ah.” He thought it over for a moment. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. It might be possible to use the Hummer’s winch to pull it straight, but that’s not really a precision tool. Luckily, you have me. Give me ten minutes and I’ll take care of it.”

  Bulco went back into the ship, leaving the three companions behind.

  “Well, he turned out a lot different than we first thought,” Lana remarked.

  “I know,” Nori said. “But don’t get too careless. Despite everything, he still killed a bunch of people.”

/>   “I see your point.”

  Nathan nodded firmly.

  “I’m back,” the large man announced. He got out of the ship, carrying a weird looking metal bar. “Now how the hell am I supposed to get up there?”

  They eventually moved the Hummer, parking it just beneath the damaged part, and Bulco stood on its roof. He put the bar between the twisted metal parts and his fingers clicked a small light console. Metallic screeching sounds erupted as the bar extended, pushing the metal back into place. Several more bars then split from the main one, straightening other parts back into shape. Bulco had to repeat the process a few more times until the entire exit was whole again.

  “Couldn’t do much about the paint job,” he said after jumping down. “But this should work now.”

  Nori rubbed her hands. “Let’s go check out the shuttle.”

  They went back into the ship and entered the shuttle. Bulco looked around with a puzzled expression. “Weird design for a shuttle. It’s just a round, empty chamber.”

  “Strap in,” Nori said, walking toward the wall and pressing her back to it.

  Bulco’s eyes bulged as a metal cage descended around the tall woman, wrapping her in a protective layer.

  Lana and Nathan followed suit, strapping themselves in as well.

  The large Engineer shook his head and moved to stand next to them. “This is one wacky design. Why bind people to the walls, when there’s plenty of room for chairs?”

  A light console appeared in front of Lana and her fingers flew rapidly over it. “Hmmm, this shuttle type is actually common in freighters, it seems. It can be used as a smaller cargo vessel, transporting goods to and from places where the main ship can’t go. And being strapped to the walls is safer than being seated, in case of a crash.”

  “How the hell do you know all that? All my console is showing me is the shuttle’s technical specs.”

  Lana smirked. “I’m the Expert.”

  “Alright, we’re ready to launch,” Nori announced, having finished operating her light console. She looked around at everyone’s faces. “Everyone ready for a test drive?”

  “This is crazy.” Lana shook her head. “We’re about to try and fly an alien shuttle. Am I the only one that thinks we’re crazy?”

  “Hey, in a world where death can come in the form of a hungry cyborg monster, dying in a plane crash looks peaceful in comparison.” Bulco chuckled. “But to answer your question - yes, I think we’re crazy too. Everyone in the world lost their marbles after the Calamity.”

  “Good, then it’s settled.” Nori’s lips twisted into an excited smile. “Please make sure your seatbelt’s on and the folding trays are in the upright position. Lift off in three … two … one ...”

  And then they were off.

  6 - New Faction

  There was no sudden pressure, no momentum gluing them to the walls. One moment they were docked inside the ship and a moment later they were flying above the Earth.

  “Inertial dampeners,” Bulco grunted. “What the hell do we need these harnesses for then?”

  The monitors on the central dais flared into life, showing the land below. Lana’s face sobered as she saw the signs of devastation. Many buildings were burned, some collapsed. Many streets were clogged with crashed cars and only a few parks survived the Calamity, looking like small specks of green in the scorched background. “It’s worse than I’d thought,” she said grimly.

  “Let’s head to the Old Stadium,” Bulco said. “It’s the closest shelter, and I’m fairly well known there.”

  “Alright,” Nori said. “Give me a second to figure out how to fly this thing.”

  While the woman was busy working her light console, Nathan's head turned sharply toward the central dais. He felt a signal that escaped the notice of the inexperienced Navigator. He concentrated briefly and rotated his wrist.

  “Hey, what’s that red dot?” Lana pointed at one of the monitors.

  “Can’t talk right now.” Nori’s fingers blurred over the console. “Too busy making sure we don’t crash.”

  Lana blanched. “Good idea.”

  “Hmm, that’s interesting,” Bulco looked intently at one of the screens and tapped a few keys on his own light console. “The shuttle’s floor can open up so you can bring in large items. The carrying capacity is also impressive: over five tons. Now let’s see what makes it tick …” His thick fingers tapped a few keys. Compared to Nori’s graceful fingers, Bulco’s looked like he was banging thick sausages on a keyboard. “Here we go,” he said. “Interesting … very interesting.”

  “What is?” Lana asked.

  “The power source. Says here it uses Tec-Void power cells. It’s currently at ninety percent. That should be enough for several days. Looks like it usually recharges when it’s docked, but the ship is running on emergency cells itself. We don’t want to exhaust those.”

  “So, when the shuttle runs out of power we can’t fly anymore?” Lana frowned.

  “Looks like it,” Bulco said grimly. “I’m guessing the ship’s cells are larger and can probably recharge the shuttle once or twice, but then it’ll dry out, and we won’t be able to access its systems.”

  “We’re nearing the Old Stadium,” Nori interrupted them. She sounded strained. “There’s something going on down there. Switching to the main display.”

  The largest monitor flickered and the picture changed to show the isolated stadium. The tall walls were reinforced and all the doors and windows were barricaded with steel plates.

  “Hey, what’s that?” Lana frowned. She tapped her console and the view zoomed in on one of the walls. A humanoid Warped, with a swarm of metallic tentacles instead of arms, was flailing at the wall. Everyone in the shuttle could clearly see large cracks opening up. Text appeared on the screen.

  Warped, level 6

  “That’s the highest level Warped I’ve ever seen,” Bulco said grimly. “They keep getting stronger. Everyone down there is going to die. They don’t have anything powerful enough to take down a monster like that.”

  “No, but we do.” Nori's voice sounded strained. “Bringing us down. I’ll shoot it from a distance, you get your Puncher ready and cover me if it gets too close.”

  “Too bad the shuttle doesn't have any weapons,” the large man grumbled. “Or that mechanical arm. With its two-ton lift capacity, we could have simply plucked that brute off the shelter and drop it to its death.”

  “If we had waited for you to install it, the Warped would have made it in by now,” Lana said, her face set in determination. “We have to help them.”

  The shuttle touched down barely fifty meters away from the Warped. The monster kept flailing its tentacles at the walls, oblivious to their approach.

  Nori readied her Disruptor and stood beside Bulco. They nodded to each other and opened the door. The Warped looked even bigger than she’d first thought. Standing nearly two and a half meters tall, its tentacles had already made a small hole in the wall. They were flailing inside, straining to enlarge it. Sounds of gunshots came from the shelter, but if the bullets did anything to hurt the monster, it didn’t show it.

  Nori readied her weapon and took careful aim. A narrow beam of blue light shot out toward the creature. Halfway through, the beam started diminishing and it impacted the monster as nothing more than harmless light.

  “God damn it!” she cursed.

  “What happened?” Bulco demanded. The Puncher was loaded and ready to go on his arm.

  “The pistol’s range is too short. We have to get closer.”

  “I’m not a big fan of leaving our flying fortress.”

  “We have to, or those people are going to die.”

  A door at the far side of the stadium opened and a single man carrying a rifle came out. He put the weapon’s stock to his shoulder and took a shot. The Warped’s head snapped sideways and he turned angrily toward the shooter. Its mouth opened as it spotted the man out in the open and gave off a terrifying, unearthly roar. Dropping his
gun, the man sprinted away from the stadium. The Warped drew its tentacles from the hole it had made and started chasing after him.

  “Hey, over here!” Nori shouted.

  “What are you doing?” Bulco shouted. “Are you trying to get us killed?”

  “It’s our chance! If he can draw that thing over to us, we don’t have to face it out in the open.”

  Bulco nodded. “Good thinking. Hey you, over here!” His voice was much louder than Nori’s.

  The man’s eyes were drawn toward the people standing in the doorway of the flying saucer and he nearly faltered his step. He recovered quickly and angled toward them, a glint of hope in his eyes. The monster, however, was closing in fast.

  “He’s not going to make it,” Lana yelled in fright.

  “He’s halfway there, just a few more seconds!” Nori said desperately while she kept her weapon aimed at the charging monster.

  “She’s right, he’s not going to make it,” Bulco grunted. He pushed through the opening and ran toward the man.

  “What is he doing?” Lana screamed.

  Nori didn’t answer but her grip tightened on the weapon.

  The Warped almost caught up to the escaping man, but Bulco got there first. Using his momentum, he punched forward hard. The Puncher discharged, adding hundreds of kilos of force to the strike. The Warped caught the metal fist full on his chest. The impact stopped it dead in its tracks, and it took several faltering steps back to regain his balance.

  That was all the time the escaping man needed. He reached the shuttle and threw himself in past Nori.

  “Bulco, duck!” the Navigator screamed and pressed the trigger.

  The beam narrowly missed the man as he threw himself to the side, and it hit the Warped’s shoulder. The beam punched a fist sized hole in its armored body and two tentacles fell off and continued writhing on the ground. The monster looked at the smoking hole on its side, then looked straight at Nori. It lifted his head and let out another skin-crawling roar.