“That might have done something... they’re scanning us,” Acton reported, then winced. “It’s an advanced scan, though. Our transponder might not hold up to that.”
“Why’d we get it, then?” Titus complained. “I thought it was supposed to keep us hidden?”
“From scans, yes. But advanced scanners have a chance of identifying it as a fake. Most players and factions don’t bother to stock advanced scanners, though,” Zelda said. “They’re too expensive.”
“We only have a few in the entire Warden Corps,” Thorne added.
“This guy’s got his own moon, advanced scanners, a zoo’s worth of monsters…” Titus shook his head. “He’s living large.”
And not taking any chances. Kaiden cursed as the robotic message played again.
“This is privately owned space. Access is restricted without special permission. Depart the area or you will be fired upon. This your final warning.”
“Turrets just locked on to us,” Acton said. “Now would be a good time to brace yourselves.”
Darn it. Why can’t anything just work out?
“Get us ready to move,” Kaiden said to the pilot.
“We’ll pull back to a safe distance,” Acton said with a nod.
“No.” Kaiden leaned on the back of the pilot’s seat and peered down toward NC451. “If they shoot, head for the surface. We need to get down there any way we can.”
“Can we survive those turrets?” Zelda asked, concern in her voice.
“No.” Acton left little room for uncertainty with his response. “A few hits and what’s left of us won’t be able to do anything but burn up in NC451’s atmosphere.”
“I’m not taking no for an answer,” Kaiden said. “Not again. We have to—”
“SS Andronicus, huh?” a voice said through comms. It was deep and rough, with a somehow strained echo, as if unused to speaking. “Our scanners beg to differ.”
Shit.
“Who is this?” Kaiden asked, peering down at the moon as if he could see the speaker down there.
“I speak for Odditor,” the voice said. “And right now he’d like to know why you’ve shown up with a fake transponder. Are you trying to hide something from us? Bah. No matter. Our scans will answer that in a moment.”
Well, this is off to a great start. What option do I have now but the truth?
“The transponder is to protect us from unwanted attention. We’ve had... some trouble getting here. I can understand why it seems suspicious to hide our identities, but we didn’t mean anything dishonest by it. We’re here to talk.”
“SS Veritas II?” the voice said, then paused. A long moment later, it spoke again. “Odditor tells me that’s a good name around here. You’re cleared to land.”
Wait. What?
Kaiden had been prepared to protest, to haggle their way down to the surface, but he hadn’t expected this.
“Um, thanks?” he said, then shook himself. “I mean, thank you. We’ll be down in a moment.” He cut the broadcast to the surface and faced the others. “That went better than expected.”
“They recognized the name Veritas II,” Thorne said, then furrowed her brow. “Does that mean—”
“They know the ship,” Zelda said with a nod. “Or they knew Bernstein. Either way, it’s our ticket down there.”
“Turrets are offline,” Acton reported. “Looks like we’re clear to head in. Captains?”
Kaiden gave a nod and the pilot eased them forward and down.
NC451, as it turned out, wasn’t covered in ocean. As they approached the surface Kaiden could see more clearly. The uniform green color was the product of a moon-spanning jungle whose canopy was so thick the Veritas II’s scanners couldn’t penetrate it. Thankfully, a landing zone had been cleared and marked with beacons designed to guide them in.
Mist rose from the trees on all sides, swirling in the air and clinging to the ship’s windows as thick droplets of water. And every mile or so, volcanic vents spewed a thick, heavy smoke up through the trees. The pilot guided them around one such vent as he brought them in to the landing pad.
The Veritas II touched down a few moments later. Kaiden gave Acton a nod before opening the side door and making his way down the ramp.
Location discovered: NC451, player-owned moon
Faction Alignment: None
Resident Guild(s): None
The message flashed the moment Kaiden’s boot touched the landing pad. The rest of the group was just behind him, clanking down the ramp.
“So, uh, where are we supposed to go?” Titus asked, looking at the dense jungle surrounding the landing pad on all sides.
“That’s a good question,” Kaiden said.
The Veritas II’s lights clicked on and flooded the space in front of the ship with a blinding light. It reflected off of the billowing mist and Kaiden’s visor auto-darkened to compensate for the glare.
“Our host says to follow the trail,” Acton said from inside the ship.
Kaiden followed the path of the ship’s lights and found a beaten dirt track beginning at the end of the landing pad.
“What? Was I supposed to bring my hiking boots for this?” Thorne asked, frowning at the path. “Why is the pad so far from Odditor’s base?”
“You can ask him when we get there,” Kaiden said, bounding toward the edge of the landing pad. “Come on, keep up.”
The dirt squished underfoot as he stepped down into it. It was dense, and wet from the mist hanging in the air. All around the edges of the path jungle ferns leaned in close as if reaching out to grab ahold of him. Kaiden made it all of three steps before a howl burst from the foliage and a beast charged him.
Ramrunner
Level: 38
Quick facts: Ramrunners are known for their poor sight and propensity for ambushing anything that surprises the—
Kaiden’s visor displayed information on the beast, but he was only halfway through reading it when the charging monster’s head slammed into his stomach and launched him backward. His health bar flashed and dropped as he flew, then again as he slammed onto the landing pad and took fall damage.
“Ow.” Kaiden pulled himself into a sitting position and took
