The disgusting Ratman’s rusty, jagged sword struck the heavy kite shield over and over. Sparks flew with each blow as the barely-sharp blade left tiny scars and scratches in its wake.
The Ratman itself was a fetid, disease-ridden beast-like humanoid. Its fur was matted, its muscles were sinewy, and its eyes were beady. It stank of the ripe combination of urine and rotting meat.
How its weapons and armor didn’t disintegrate from direct contact was a complete mystery.
Not that Pelli even cared about any of that.
His eyes were wild with surprise as he held up his kite shield and blocked blow after blow from the enraged Ratman. And although he was covered head to toe in gleaming plate armor, and wielded a razor-sharp longsword, he was still pushed back heavily.
There’s a genus of organisms called Hydra vulgaris, and these things are functionally immortal. Their cells don’t age or degrade like all other living things do. If one is torn in half, it ends up growing into two. If they’re broken down to their individual cells, they reform themselves back together, like a T-1000. Go look them up! They’re really cool.
Pelli looked at the screen intently as he scrolled through the various character classes available to him. Images of their outfits and loadouts were splashed next to their individual growth stats and abilities. All of them looked fun to play, regardless of the scenario they were in. And although the changing room he was currently in was a little cramped, it was more than enough for him to move around. The mirror next to him showed off his current outfit, which was the fully armored Knight. “What if I took a healer class?” He tapped on the Battlepriest class, and his outfit immediately began to change and shift. His plumed helm and plate armor began to fade away, and was replaced with a hooded chain robe. Over top of the chain was a priestly white and gold tabard, and
The penthouse bar was filled with unbridled celebrations later that cycle. It was finally the weekend, and the city’s various denizens needed to finally cut loose after a long week of work. The bar itself sat in the very middle of the place, where a number of bartenders made drink after drink all through the night. Surrounding the edges of the penthouse were numerous tables, some high, some low. They were all pushed up against the large bay windows that surrounded all four sides of the bar itself. Everyone had a clear view of Manhattan, from all angles, in one of the highest buildings in the city. The noise from each of their conversations combined with the too-loud music filled the entire room. Patrons leaned towards each other and talked enthusiastically about their lives, their careers, that awesome new ‘Cast, the state of the Federation, everything. All w
Five jets screamed at maximum throttle eastwards over the Atlantic Ocean, and left the North American coastline far behind. The thrust from their engines caused the water to jet up in the air violently, yet beautifully. The deep blue sky above them turned a deep red the closer it got to the horizon. And as they sped, Sol peeked up and broke the sky into dawn. And even though Helios surrounded it, its light was still bright, and its heat was still felt. The sun unceasingly rose skyward, lit up the sky with brilliant shades of blues and reds, and caused the grey-blue waters of the North Atlantic ocean to sparkle. The pilots watched as Gaea witnessed yet another dawn. Just one more, after billions of them one after the other. Nothing new, but still amazing. Pio wa
The doors to one of thousands of Helios’ Police & Security Stations opened with a SWISH. Like most of the other government buildings in Helios, these were relatively nondescript. Large, unassuming, and plain, they didn’t do much to stand out among the rest. Eva, Miko, and Amal all walked out, followed by a middle-aged man wearing a pressed business outfit. His polished Helios Megacity Police badge hung visibly from his belt, almost like a mark of honor, or pride. On that same belt, on his right hip was his standard-issue sidearm. It didn’t look particularly dangerous, but it was certainly lethal in its own way. Eva turned around to the genial, bespectacled cop, and gave him a smile. “Thanks for your ti
The Toymaker sat hunched over his workspace in his quiet little shop and tinkered with one of his many delicate toys. With a jeweler’s loupe in front of one eye, he gently aligned springs and sprockets in place with unwavering precision. His hands, aged as they were, held onto his delicate tweezers and tools with unwavering steadiness. He slipped a thin brass gear in between two larger ones, and tapped it into place neatly. And as he added more and more parts back in, his steadiness never wavered. As though he himself was like clockwork. He barely even stirred when his shop bell rang and three people walked through his door. Two sets of footsteps were familiar to him, but couldn’t place the third. He didn’t even look up by the time they reached his corner of the shop.
A salesman in a wonderfully-pressed semi-formal outfit slapped a hand on the hull of the used ship next to him. “This bird can fit up to 900 cubic meters of standard goods,” he said, “such as your traditional flour noodle dish with delicious homemade red sauce poured on top.” Eva, Miko, and Amal all gawked at the beautiful frigate in front of them. It was sleek and held organic curves, as though it was a seed with short wings. Miko scanned it with her baton, pulled down its base operational data points straight to her brain, and shared what she found with the other two. According to what they saw on their DI, the ship was slightly larger than most frigates of its class. It sat at 150 meters long, 68 meters wide, and 42 meters high. It had a robust, flexible str
Eva, Miko, and Amal sat in a rented hangar and stared at the broken down old corvette parked in it. Its design was clearly outdated, and almost from another era. It was probably loved long ago, but was now clearly forgotten and neglected and probably even cursed. The thing was practically falling apart just sitting there. Its landing gear looked frail and could hardly hold the ship’s own weight. Paint was peeling all over its surface, which did little to hide the dents and scrapes all around. It was even missing entire sections of armor - how it wasn’t completely stripped down was a total mystery. And the design itself… not particularly the most attractive thing. It was a bit like a long oval, but slightly boxy around the edges. Although the front smoothed down nicely, the rear was bulky and looked a little
Amal slid her environmental suit’s helmet shut with a solid CLACK. Air vented out of little ports from the side with a loud FSSSH. Inside, its HUD lit up on the heavily tinted glass in front of her face. — Oxygen: 96%, stable Filter Degradation: 1% Antimicrobial Shield: Active — Amal sighed deeply as resolve set deep in her bones. After a moment of reflection, she curled an open hand into a fist. “Okay, here I go,” she said. “Wish me luck.” “Ganbare,” said Miko. Amal fired up the plas