“Dawson is going to try to sway as many free wardens as he can to our side. Having the evidence from the database would help him immensely.” She held up a hand to stop any incoming protests. “In the real world, we’re not restricted by Nova’s limitations. We can make as many copies of the database as needed, so we’re not losing anything. I’ll make a copy and leave it in a hidden location somewhere in the city. Then I’ll contact him and let him know where it is. This way, there’s no chance he leads me into a trap – which I am completely confident he would never do. If anyone can be taken at their word, it's him.”
“And what about you? We’re supposed to take you at your word? What if you’re smuggling a copy of the database to the Party instead?” Titus asked, arms crossed. “How can we trust you?”
“He’s got a point there. Not that it would be much use to them beyond preparing some kind of propaganda to counter the accusations,” Kaiden said, then shrugged. “Look, if Dawson’s helping, I’m ecstatic to hear it. But at the same time, it feels bad to just hand out copies of the database. Even if you’re not betraying us in some convoluted manner, taking a hard copy of the database into the city risks it falling into the Party’s hands.”
“But what difference does that make?” Thorne asked, looking earnest. “If they get a copy of it, is it really that bad? It doesn’t affect us at all. They capture one hard copy, so what? We can make more. The end game here is sending it out to every player in Nova. That’s going to be a lot easier if Dawson can bring powerful free wardens to our side.”
God, but Kaiden was tired of this situation. Wanting to trust Thorne but not feeling able to. It was like being stuck in a permanent limbo. A purgatory of suspicion.
“Thorne’s right,” Zelda said, finally joining the conversation after having sat in a thoughtful silence thus far. “It feels strange to say it, but she’s right. Dawson turned on the Party, so I think we can assume he’s being truthful. Unless this is all some ruse they’re putting on to make us trust him. Either way, it doesn’t matter. We don’t need to trust him. We don’t need to give him anything more than one hard copy of the database. If he is being truthful and can use it to recruit wardens to our cause, that’s excellent. We need the allies. If he’s being deceitful and working with the Party, then they get a copy of the database. They can read through it and then – what? Tremble at the thought of what would happen once the information in it gets out?”
Zelda shook her head. “If we suspect there’s the slightest chance Dawson is working with the Party then the solution is we don’t give him any leverage over us. Giving him a hard copy of the database is low risk with the potential for high reward. Even if he betrays us, as long as he doesn’t know our endgame of taking the AFBS, how much damage can he really do? We’ll keep him at arm’s length and only trust him as much as we need to.”
“That’s a cold way to think about a man who just gave up his livelihood and put his life on the line to help us,” Thorne said. She sighed. “But if that’s what it takes to make this happen, so be it.”
“So that’s what we’ll do, then?” Kaiden asked, looking at them all.
Zelda and Thorne nodded. Titus hesitated a moment, then relented with a shrug.
“I want to believe he’s with us,” the big man said. “I just hope he really is.”
“Well, we’re giving him the chance to prove it,” Kaiden said.
“When we log out next, Zelda will make a copy of the database and I’ll fly it to the outskirts of town,” Thorne said. “I’ll keep away from the population centers, leave the copy somewhere hidden, then hightail it back. Won’t take more than half a day.”
“All right, that’s settled then,” Zelda said. She lead them back toward the main quarters of the ship. “Now we need to talk about what comes next. What are we doing to keep this plan rolling? To gain more allies, and level ourselves?”
“Well, we kicked the crap out of those pirates,” Titus said, walking in step beside Zelda. “And saved that crippled exploration vessel, and delivered those medical supplies, and…” He paused. “Maybe it’d be easier to say we raked in some serious mission EXP.”
“I can see that,” Thorne said as Zelda led them through the halls of the Veritas II. “You’ve leveled, I notice.”
Kaiden nodded at that. As a result of the rush of missions they’d done while waiting for her to arrive, they’d each gained two levels, putting them all at thirty-three – just one level below Thorne.
“Picked up a new ability each, too.” Kaiden pulled up his character sheet.
Character
Name:
Kaiden
Race:
Human
Level:
33
Class:
Enhanced Warden
Attributes
Strength:
48 (+2)
Intelligence:
42
Endurance:
47
Perception:
42
Dexterity:
116 (+2)
Unassigned:
0
Abilities
Kickback
Shield Bash
Hammer Toss
Lightspeed
Improved Enhanced Senses
Riposte
Flash Bang
Improved Blur
Onslaught
Enfeebling Strike
Slayer (passive)
Hamstring
Perks
Turen Tinkering
He dug through his messages to get the screenshots they always sent to one another. “Hold on. It’s probably best I forward these to you.” Now that she was on his friends list he could send her images, which is exactly what he did. First, the one he’d taken:
Ability Unlocked!
Hamstring: Charge is redirected into your hammer. On your next successful critical attack this charge cripples your opponent. Their movement speed is reduced by 50% for 10 seconds.
Cost: 60 charge.
Cooldown: 2 minutes.
Then, the screenshots Titus and Zelda had taken:
Ability Unlocked!
Shield Link: Your charge is redirected to flow into a nearby ally. For a duration of 15 seconds, all charge you absorb is sent to a warden ally within 50 feet.
Cost: 30 charge.
Cooldown: 2 minutes.
Ability Unlocked!
Lock On: You direct charge into your hammer-gun. For 5 seconds, as long as the last target you damaged is within your
