.
Alex sighed as incoming messages continued to stream past his vision. Judging by their red color, they were global achievements, requiring more attention and well-thought-out decisions. He decided to postpone those for now, giving priority to assessing the welfare of the Homo-54s. He also made a mental note to contact the ‘Fiery Whip of the Commonwealth’, as well as the mechoes.
Without rising from his chair, he asked, “Jokeiro, what does ‘SIS’ mean?”
“It stands for ‘Sabotage and Intelligence Service’.”
“That’s great.” Alex smiled. “Flash got a raise. Iss, establish a video link with the ‘Fiery Whip of the Commonwealth’.”
Several video broadcasts came at once – the cabin, as well as the seventh, tenth, and thirteenth hangars crowded with the Homo-42s.
They saw the explosion and have likely also read the global achievements.
Alex addressed the Homo-42s, “Companions! Brothers and sisters! We did it! Congratulations to all of you! Gres, Tataki, proceed to Earth orbit. We must convene a council.”
The beautiful Gres flushed with excitement. “Commander Phoenix! Alex! Yes!”
The equally striking Tataki added, “Congratulations to the Homo-54s! Seven loyalty points! Phoenix, you are one lucky bastard!”
Alex raised his hand, fighting the urge to join the general rejoicing. “See you soon. Over and out.”
He leaned back in the captain’s chair, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Jokeiro, what did Tataki mean by loyalty points?”
His Master’s voice took on a scolding tone. “You would know if you read the high-priority messages of the System. In summary, the Homo-54s have obtained seven loyalty points and become a superior race.”
Alex grimaced. “It seems, despite our new status, the Admins won’t leave us alone.”
Jokeiro grunted. “You are correct. The Admins will postpone a full-scale attack on Earth. Keep in mind, they are greedy and proud. They have suffered serious losses in the Solar system — their reputation, ships, Intellectum, resources, and, most importantly, unrealized profits from failed hunts and sweepstakes.”
Alex rubbed his temples. “Thank you. . What do you think the Admins will do in the near future?”
“First, they will demand the return of their spaceships, as each one belongs to a different clan. Even if you comply, they will demand and huge compensation until they take all your money. Honesty and fairness are not in their vocabulary anymore, and therefore your arguments won’t be heard. However, they are well versed in intimidation, bribery, provocation, and, of course, sabotage. I advise that you keep the spaceships, negotiate brazenly, and demand the immediate return of the Earthlings who have been taken to their farms.”
Alex nodded resignedly. “Thank you, Jokeiro, I promise to heed your advice. Signing off.” Alex slapped his knees, stood up from the captain’s chair, and slipped out of his spacesuit.
Iss, hovering nearby, perked up, “Player Phoenix, confidential information has arrived for you. I believe you should read it before you take any further action regarding the Earthlings.”
Alex’s eyes fell to the former control room of the Reaper, and three arrogant representatives of a superior race. The hologram focused on a sullen man with cold eyes. Alex guessed him to be a captain. It read:
.
Race — Homo-3
Name — Ello Erates
Health — 328 600/328 600
Development — U-3 286
Energy — М-2 120
Efficiency — E-9
Talent — С+
Skills — Defence Mage
Utility — Supreme (10% sensitivity to pain)
.
Alex scratched his head. The last line intrigued him.
This will be a great bonus for the Homo-54s.
Alex recalled his mentor’s recent words that Flash and Alex couldn’t resist such a strong opponent.
Jokeiro’s right, Ello Erates is nearly invincible.
The Homo-3’s Talent line started to blink, surprising him.
“This is a hint,” he guessed. “Earthlings have a higher Talent, which means we can develop more quickly. Great!”
Alex froze for a moment. Iss seemed to have paused the recording.
“Iss, was there a recording delay?”
“Affirmative, player Phoenix, four-tenths of a second. From your pupils and movements, I realized you were in the process of accelerated analysis and allowed myself such an adjustment.”
“Good job, Iss. Continue.”
“Affirmative.” The recording resumed.
Then, the Homo-3 seemed to lose control, shouting and cursing. He railed against the leadership of the Supreme races, Admins, even his fellow Homo-3s mired an idle life. After concluding his rant, this Narcissus-like man got down to business. “Put the Crimson Catchers on alert! Acquire two dozen of the top-rated players of this world, alive and unharmed.” He poked a sharp finger at Earth. “I authorize the launch of the combat analyzer.”
Alex turning to the AI, “What is the combat analyzer?”
“No one really knows the full functionality of this artifact,” Iss replied. “According to my information, there are only three combat analyzers of the ancients, and one of them was traditionally located on the Reaper. There is evidence that it was used in astrogeology and mutational nanogenetics. The rest of the data is classified per the highest council of Admins. Identifying the best players in the trusted territory, their exact location, stats, and other relevant data would be an easy task for the combat analyzer.”
“Okay. What’s next?”
Alex’s attention returned to the Reaper’s central control room. One of the foreign invaders tried to warn the captain that violation of ancient laws could negatively affect the rating of their clan. The furious captain fired back that he didn’t care about laws, as he had a luminous seal on his palm.
Alex opened his mouth, to order Iss to display the scheme of the spaceship, but Iss had clearly anticipated this, as the scheme had already appeared on the hologram.
Alex patted Iss’s sloping metal side. Then, he retrieved an ampoule of Intellectum and handed it to the AI. “Take it, Iss. You’ve earned it.”
The AI took the offered gift with its retractable flexible arm but froze, not responding to either voice commands or palm movements in front of its sensors.
The nanobots
