Sixty-five percent health. I can take it, he thought, then lashed out with a hammer strike at the captain’s head.
Critical hit!
+50% damage (Headshot)
He swung again and landed another critical hit, then took careful aim and scored another.
Two more to activate Onslaught. That’ll finish this guy off nicely.
“Let’s finish this up. Still more quests to get to,” he shouted, then took aim for the last two criticals he needed. The captain lunged forward and Kaiden swung for another headshot – but it was a feint. The captain backpedaled instead and Kaiden’s attack missed the head and glanced off the shoulder instead, breaking the chain of criticals.
No! Darn it.
It was more annoying than anything, but a setback nonetheless.
“Ooh, almost had Onslaught there,” Titus said, wincing. “That would have been cool.”
Kaiden grumbled in response and pursued the captain, who was yelling again.
“You’ll regret this day! No one crosses—”
Something huge and molten roared over Kaiden’s shoulder and slammed into the captain, cutting him off. He didn’t explode so much as disappear entirely as the attack caught him full in the chest and kept on going. What was left of the captain and the attack blasted through the far wall and punctured the hull of the ship.
Pirate Captain assisted kill - 3,400 EXP gained!
“Ha. I love Inferno Shot,” Zelda said, admiring her handiwork.
“A bit of overkill, don’t you think?” Kaiden asked, surveying the remains of the battlefield. All the enemies were dead and now the cargo bay was rapidly depressurizing as the air escaped out of the newly created hole in one side. Debris and corpses were being sucked toward it in a swirling vortex.
“Overkill, maybe.” Titus was grinning. “But that was awesome. Is that what it looked like when you killed the Voidlord and me with it?”
“Kinda, except with a bit more screaming and a lot more sizzling ooze.”
Quest Complete: Capture or kill the pirate crew of the SS Walrus
Reward: 5,000 EXP, +2 faction prestige, 1,000 credits
“All right,” Titus said, clapping his hands together. “That’s another quest down. What’s next?”
“Hold up a sec.” Kaiden had noticed something. A notification he’d missed during the fighting.
Friend request from:
Thorne
Free Warden
Class: Power Warden
Faction: Unaffiliated
Level: 34
Accept?
“Guys!” He waved them over. “I got a friend request from Thorne. Check your social window, see if you did too?”
This is good news, right? Means she must have made it out.
Kaiden accepted the request and a direct message immediately followed it. He read it aloud.
DM from: Thorne
“There was a greeting party. Made it out, though, with help from unexpected friends. Headed your way now in the Borrelly. Will explain once there.”
“The Borrelly?” Zelda asked. “Where did she get that?”
“I mean, it’s stationed out of the Anakoni, so maybe she took it?” Kaiden said, still processing everything.
“Ooh boy. Ellenton’s gonna pissed when she finds out,” Titus said with a laugh.
“But she made it out!” Kaiden said. “And she’s headed here. That’s better than we expected.”
Zelda nodded.
“Means we don’t have to give her a week-long migraine by forcefully disconnecting her headset from the game.” She paused. “How close is she? How long will it take her to get here?”
Kaiden hovered over her name on his social window and additional details appeared.
“She’s two systems over. Covering that kind of distance in a shuttle is gonna take forever. Better part of a day, at least.”
“That’s fine,” Zelda said, turning to leave the cargo bay. “We have more quests to complete. Come on. These levels aren’t gonna grind themselves.”
Kaiden composed a response to Thorne as he jogged after Zelda. How had she made it out? He wanted an explanation. Something to convince him the Party hadn’t just let her escape so she could act as a double agent.
DM to: Thorne
“Understood. Interested to hear that explanation.”
Titus brought up the rear, and as they worked their way out of the pirate ship, Kaiden found Thorne’s escape just sounded a little too good to be true.
Chapter Eleven
The Borrelly was docked inside the Veritas II. From where they were standing – in the hallway of the light cruiser – they could see out of a large window that looked into the cargo bay. It gave an unrivaled view of the sleek shuttle, tucked snugly into the docking station. Kaiden still couldn’t believe it was here.
Logistically, it made sense. The Veritas II was a light cruiser and as such had a docking bay for a shuttle. They’d talked before about acquiring one to keep in there. But having a shuttle docked with them wasn’t what was so strange. It was which shuttle was docked with them.
The Borrelly, he thought. The shuttle we started this whole crazy adventure on. Just having it so close was making him nostalgic. For simpler times, maybe. But also for a time when it hadn’t felt like him, Titus, and Zelda against the whole of the world. Though they had Thorne now, right? And from what she was saying, Dawson and Ellenton were also on their side. That sounded good enough that, for a moment, Kaiden started to believe they could actually pull off this whole mad endeavor, despite his ongoing reservations about Thorne.
“Ellenton and Dawson?” Titus asked, smiling wide. “That’s awesome!” He swung his arm as if practicing with an imaginary hammer. “Man, can you imagine having Dawson on our side to help bash some Party goons? That’s going to be sick!”
Admittedly, it was a pretty awesome thought. Harsh as the man had been, Kaiden had always had something of a soft spot for the scream-happy drill sergeant. Having him on their side was an unexpected comfort. Assuming it was true. And then there was Ellenton. Kaiden hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her until now.
“I want to give Dawson an offline copy of the database,” Thorne said, shattering the good mood.
Titus’ smile faded and Kaiden felt his own hopes falter at the words. He couldn’t help his suspicion. Thorne continued speaking, clearly aware of the direction
