Chapter Forty-Three: On our Way to Pluto
MY EYES SNAPPED OPEN. I felt slightly odd and stood up. The empty, forgotten Nanite Cluster container on my lap fell and I snatched it out of the air. Stretching, I tried to determine what the odd feeling was, but before I could pinpoint a cause, the feeling fled.
I pulled up my status sheet.
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Jake, Humanity-branch
Transcendent Flesh Level 3
Physical Stats:
Strength: 30
Coordination: 30
Endurance: 30
Mental Stats:
Acuity: 30
Intuition: 30
Perception: 30
Nanite Clusters: 87/100
Mitrasa Zeropoint Energy Tap
Engineering Vision
Subdermal Armor
Drone Control Link
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My stats were maxed out for my Transcendent Flesh level now. My body didn't look any different. I hadn't suddenly bulked up or anything. I thought I could feel the difference. My thoughts seemed sharper, and my body more responsive and strong. I was aching to test it out.
Before I could get distracted I checked the time and saw that I'd been unconscious nearly ten hours. I had no time to play just yet.
"Brick, that took longer than I expected. Is Marty done?" I asked.
"Yes, Marty is waiting for you with the Redemption along with Regar and Kiril."
After all my talk about how time-pressed we were, I ended up being the one that was holding up the mission. I stepped into my armor and it closed behind me.
"Let them know I'm on my way, Brick."
Excalibur was still clipped to my right hip, and Brick had refilled the suit's Nanite Cluster reserves without my having to ask. What I didn't have were any weapons.
The Secure Storage Locker opened at my command, revealing a Gazer rifle and the GN-75 Gale Needler. I took the Gazer and hesitated for a moment before taking the GN-75 as well. It wasn't always up to fighting the really tough Ferals but I still had a soft spot for the weapon. At the very least it would make a good backup for the Gazer, which history had shown me was quite fragile.
Leaving the empty locker open I turned and jumped into the lift shaft. It set me down gently at the bottom of the Hab complex seconds later. I hurried through Pax's empty corridors to the gate room and through to Mercury.
Regar, Kiril, and Marty were standing in a loose group in front of Redemption when I entered. Kiril had a brown box tucked under his right arm.
"Great, you're here," Marty said.
"Sorry man, didn't realize my upgrade was going to take so long."
"No big," Marty said and waved off my apology.
"Jake, we have come bearing a gift," Regar said.
"You're going into battle, and a Seeker must be properly armed," Kiril added. He stepped forward and presented the brown box with both hands.
The box had obviously been handmade. Strange whorls hinted at some alien wood. It had a hinged lid, closed with an ornate bronze latch on the front. It wasn't small, roughly the size of the box my work boots had come in. The Interface didn't give me any clues.
"What's this, guys? I'm not a Seeker; you know that."
"You are, if only in spirit. Besides, I owe you a life debt. One that can never be fully repaid," Regar said.
"Unlike Regar, I do not believe in the concept of a life debt," Kiril said. "I also acknowledge that the balance between us is uneven, Jake. May this gift shift the scales."
I had no idea what he was talking about. Some kind of karma, perhaps?
Kiril pressed the box toward me and I took it and cradled it in my left arm while I opened the latch mechanism with my right. The lid opened smoothly and revealed the treasure inside.
Black fabric molded around every curve of the device within. Shining black and chrome metal, it was a fat cylinder with six stubby barrels protruding from one end. It looked like an upscaled version of one of those guns you'd see in a Western every now and then—a pepperbox revolver. This one had no pistol grip or even a visible trigger.
The Interface continued to be unhelpful, refusing to label it for me.
"Is this an Artifact?" I asked, looking up at Kiril and Regar who were watching closely.
"Yes," Kiril said. "One of our fallen brothers owned that. It was his prized possession, although Regar rarely allowed him to use it on our expeditions. The way you fight in that flying armor of yours I feel it will work very well for you indeed."
I pulled it free of the box’s tight embrace and felt the heft of it in my right hand. The box I set on the floor, taking care not to damage the beautiful wood. My Engineering vision mode revealed Union power input and control runs beneath the surface of the Artifact, as well as what looked like a targeting link. The rest of the weapon's interior was an opaque mystery.
Once again, I resolved to get the blueprint for Kiril's upgraded Engineering vision Augment that worked on Artifacts and install one as soon as possible.
"It's beautiful, but what does it do?" I asked.
"Attach it to your armor and link it into your control network," Kiril instructed.
I stuck the weapon to my right forearm and mounted it so that when it fired the shot wouldn't take off my right hand.
As soon as it was firmly mounted, power began flowing into it and the Interface finally popped up to identify it.
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Nemesis
This Artifact weapon fires antimatter charges at high velocity.
Impact Detonation
Control(s) available: Set to Remote Detonation
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"The weapon has two firing modes," Kiril explained. "The first causes the projectile to explode on contact. With the second the projectile will remotely detonate when it receives a detonation signal. Each barrel has a unique key for the projectile it fires, and your suit should have the transmission power to issue the detonation sequence at several thousand kilometers of range."
"Seriously?" I boggled.
"You will find that range to be useful, Seeker," Regar said. "Fair warning—do not use this weapon indoors. Really not anywhere
