Earth's Gambit (The Gam3 Book 2) Read online

“And don’t you forget it,” the boy replied.

  Alan, about to assure Luna that he could find a different seat, was stopped by Eve.

  Stop messing around and sit down, Eve sent.

  “Um, I assure you I’ll be no trouble. It looks like we’re going to take off soon, and I’d like to be seated,” Alan said.

  “Look,” Luna said, “I didn’t want to be rude, but seeing as you can’t take a hint, I’d prefer it if you found a seat elsewhere. Be wary of strangers, and all that nonsense. I admit it’s a rather trite saying, but you can never be too safe, especially when you’re heading to an Academy for the elite. Your armor simply screams saboteur.”

  Alan looked down at his Revenant Scout Power Armor. While it was quite powerful, with stealth capabilities, people looked down on the Revenant faction that produced it.

  “Well, allow me to introduce myself,” Alan said. “I am Alan, and am a squire for the Black Rose guild, underneath the inventor, Phantom. I assure you that I am a research assistant from Earth, a planet new to the Game, not a saboteur.”

  At the mention of Earth the girl in the flight suit looked over at Alan. If she was also from Earth, that explained her clothing.

  Luna stared at the Black Rose emblem Alan had emblazoned on his armor.

  “Well, all right, then. I am Luna, of the Alliance system Elda, niece of the Solar Queen. I suppose you may take the seat next to me, now that we’ve been introduced. I’m usually not so rude, but that piece of dung over there has me on edge.” Luna made an offhanded wave at the boy sitting across from her.

  “Um, okay,” Alan said, squeezing past Luna and sitting down.

  “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it, princess?” the boy said. “I’m S, by the way, an Empire Servant, at your service. Let me know if she gives you any trouble. Ælven royalty are known to be temperamental.”

  “Temperamental?” Luna said. “Maybe that’s because we actually follow the will of our people. You, undoubtedly, only care about your own best interests.”

  “I’m sorry, I thought you followed the highest bidder,” S snidely remarked. “And, in case you haven’t noticed, the people are idiots. The masses don’t know what’s best for them.”

  “And I suppose you do?”

  “Of course. Unlike you, who happened to be born into the right family, I’ve proven myself to be an adept leader.”

  “An adept leader? Don’t make me laugh. I was just examining details about the uprising you single-handedly stopped. It seems to me that you simply took advantage of an already completed struggle. You made several key errors as well!”

  Luna continued, launching into a long string of insults and criticisms of the Empire as a whole. S listened calmly.

  Alan raised his head, looking for a different seat.

  The girl next to the window turned to him and whispered, “Just ignore them. They’ve been arguing on and off for the past half-hour or so. I’m Amelia, by the way, also from Earth. I’m glad there’s someone else, I thought I would be the only one.”

  “Oh, cool,” Alan said. “I’m from California, what about you?”

  “The Midwest, mostly,” Amelia replied. “My mother’s part of the Air Force, so I’ve been all over. Grew up around planes, got my pilot’s license at seventeen and all that. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I was just as good at flying spacecraft. That’s how I ended up here, actually—I managed to get a scholarship after performing well in a simulator. What about you, what’s your story?”

  “I got lucky,” Alan said. “I was recommended to the Black Rose guild—they’re sort of like Special Forces mercenaries—and managed to get a position. I barely met their requirements to get into the combat class of the Academy; they’re paying for my tuition.”

  “How did you manage to pull all that off?” Amelia asked.

  “A series of fortunate events. Like I said, I got lucky. I couldn’t have gotten here alone; another guild mate, also from Earth, helped a lot. I’ll introduce you later. By the way, are you part of United World Government?” Alan said.

  Amelia grimaced, turning to look back out the window. The shuttle had started its ascent, and was now flying away from Khersath.

  “No, I’m not part of the UWG. Not that it hasn’t stopped my mother from trying to recruit me. I’m just not sure that this is what I want to do,” Amelia said.

  “What?”

  “I’m not sure if I want to do all this,” Amelia said, gesturing to the debating S and Luna. “This whole ‘Game,’ the never-ending conflict, the battles for supremacy.”

  “Um, you do understand the nature of the Game and what’s at stake, right?” Alan said.

  “Yes, there are obvious benefits for being in power, but doesn’t this seem rather stupid to you?” Amelia stared at Alan, looking directly into his eyes. He glanced out the window, avoiding the stare. “Like, we have miraculous technology and advances at our fingertips, and what are we doing with it? We’re joining a never-ending conflict.”

  “Put that way, it does seem rather morbid. I’m having fun, though, glad to be along for the ride. Doesn’t all this,” Alan gestured out the window at space, “spark your sense of adventure, of wonder? You don’t have to join a conflict. You could just explore, but I think that we should at least try to help out our people.”

  “I guess. You’re, like, a supporter of the UWG, then?” Amelia asked.

  “Um, not exactly. I belong to a third party at this point, just interested in the good of Earth overall,” Alan said. “I’ll maybe talk to you about it later, as I think the details will interest you. However, if you aren’t part of any faction, the Black Rose guild is looking for skilled pilots.”

  “Hands off, lucky boy,” Luna chimed in. “I already informed her that the Alliance, as a democratic confederation, is currently hiring, with equal opportunity for all.”

  “And I informed her,” S said, “that the Alliance, as a democratic confederation, pays far less and promotes far slower than the Empire, where you’ll find the true elite and none of that bureaucratic nonsense. Or less of it at least.”

  “And I am going to tell you what I told both of them,” Amelia said. “Thank you for the offer, I’ll think about it, but right now I just want to make it through the Academy.” Amelia turned to look out of the window. “It seems like you fit right in, though, Alan.”

  Alan shrugged. “I’ve always liked games, especially RPGs.”

  “Mmm,” Amelia responded, continuing to gaze out into space.

  “Hmm, that was a decent attempt at recruiting,” Luna said. “I’ll give you an A for effort, but maybe a C for motivation. When recruiting others to your cause you want to ensure they’re decently motivated; otherwise they’ll have little reason to join, or will betray you. Unless, of course, you were depending on some hidden Earth technique I’m unaware of, like a mating ritual. Is it normal for the males in your culture to avoid eye contact with females?”

  Alan blushed, looking straight ahead.

  “I’ve found that blackmail and bribery are good incentives,” S said. “Though that usually involves digging up some dirt.”

  “Ah, well, we all eventually get our hands dirty,” Luna replied. “It’s just a matter of how deep you’re willing to dig.”

  Alan ignored the two, attempting to get a bit of rest before the initial training started. He thought about trying to engage Amelia in a bit more small talk, but as she continued to stare out the window into space, he got the feeling she had her own thoughts on her mind.

  ***

  Alan awoke with a jolt, a screen in front of him flickering to life, mid-air. Glancing around, he saw that similar screens had popped up in front of everyone else. He woke up fully alert, a useful ability he had gained from his Machine Lord class.

  The tutorial video began with an Administrator-like figure sitting behind a desk. A label above the figure simply said, “Chancellor.”

  “Welcome, players, to the Academy System. I hope that you had a pleasant jour
ney; you will arrive at your destination in fifteen minutes. In the meantime, an introductory message will be broadcast—please remain quiet while the message plays. I look forward to the coming days.”

  The info-video began introducing the three phases of the Academy education, which varied from student to student. What each phase entailed was somewhat uncertain, as the Academy was prone to changing its lesson plans.

  That lead to the rewards, the true reason so many chose to go to this Academy—a place that had always been a part of the Game, a place that had spawned so many other training facilities that were modeled after its methods. The rewards came after students completed their education, when they would be allowed to spend the remaining days of their Academy semester on Volta, a literal treasure planet located within the Academy System. The tales of loot uncovered on the planet were simply astonishing: schema that extended life, mines filled with metals on par with Soulsteel, and caverns full of crystals that could power the entirety of Khersath. Of course, there were monsters and bosses that corresponded to the level of loot, but the chance was too great to pass up. It was a place where all the mobs dropped nothing but diamond marks worth 20,000 credits each, or so it was said.

  Much like the rest of the Academy, Volta was shrouded in secrecy, but the leading theory was that the place had been a part of the original universe when it was copied over to the Game. The Academy had been where the Lords of Life had trained their warriors, and Volta was where they equipped them. The Lords of Life had disappeared eons ago, but their creations remained, so this was the most likely explanation.

  Alan had first assumed that this meant the Academy was run by the Administrators, but Eve stressed this was not the case: the Academy was not governed or controlled by any faction, but by the Chancellor, a fiercely independent AI. An odd peculiarity was that the Chancellor, and most Academy ships, were confined to the Academy System, with a large Administrator outpost located nearby.

  Finally, to top it all off, Alan’s classmates were supposedly the cream of the cream of the crop, at least according to Phantom. A player had to have less than a year of in-game time to enroll in the Academy, and thus most tried to wait as long as possible before enrolling, training in-game skills to get through the three education phases as fast as possible.

  Looking out the shuttle window, Alan watched as they landed in a dense forest by a small underground bunker. A flood of messages appeared before Alan. School was in.

  Chapter 2

  “Wait, you got to sit next to Luna the entire flight? The Princess? You should have told me, bro, I would have gladly switched seats!” Sidestep said.

  Alan got off the shuttle, trying to get a better sense of their surroundings. “Calm down, Sidestep, we’re not exactly here to pick up girls.”

  “Ah, my foolish friend, I plan on doing much more,” Sidestep said.

  Alan rolled his eyes, looking to Aurora for help.

  She shrugged. “In a way he’s right, unfortunately. We are here to make allies, if not friends, and romantic bonds can be quite durable. For now, we should try to get a sense of who else is here and what we need to do to get to the next stage.”

  “All right,” Alan said, “I’ll head over there.” He pointed at the bunker.

  “It would be best if I introduced you to some of the more influential figures,” Aurora said. “I’m glad to hear that you’ve met Luna and S, but there are a number of other people—”

  “I’m good, thanks,” Alan said, turning around and walking toward the bunker.

  “Update us with what you find,” Sidestep called out after him.

  “Okay,” Alan yelled back. He started maneuvering his way through the cliques of people that were forming, various factions figuring out what they were doing next. Alan re-scanned the initial messages he’d gotten:

  Welcome to Incipe! The area immediately surrounding the Student Center is a safe zone. Thus, should you die there will be no penalty unless you enter one of the areas deemed unsafe. You may not enter any unsafe area against your will. Any unjustified acts of violence or breaking of laws will be appropriately punished by the Academy, ranging from a simple detention to expulsion, depending on the nature of your crime.

  Your respawn point has been updated to the Capsule Room in the Student Center.

  Graduate Updated! Phase One:

  Complete the initial quests given. Once you have finished these quests you may continue on to the second phase of your education, personalized class-based instruction.

  Reward: Admittance and transportation to Graduate: Phase Two

  New quest: Introductions

  Get to know your fellow classmates, then proceed with your class to the designated assembly area.

  00:24:45 remaining

  Reward: Access to testing facilities

  New quest: Hit the Books

  Study up! Practice with the personal, one-on-one tutor programs, or in a review group until you are ready to pass the tests you are required to take. As a Rogue Machine Lord, you are required to pass tests in the following subjects:

  Life, Social and Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Computer Science, Cryptography, Artificial Intelligence, and Metaphysics.

  Note: Aids such as personal AIs and intelligence augmentations are allowed during the tests.

  Penalty for failure: Remedial study sessions and work assignments.

  Reward: Knowledge and the ability to explore Incipe further.

  New quest: Basic Survival

  Once you have finished studying, you have two options: ten days of intense physical training and guidance under wonderful Trainers, or wilderness survival on Incipe, gathering 100,000 credits worth of materials from the Hunting Grounds on the planet.

  Penalty for failure: Failure to meet Trainers’ expectations or gather enough resources will result in a week-long intensive remedial course.

  Rewards: Training or gathered resources.

  These tasks seemed simple enough. Alan entered the so-called Student Center. The layout was straightforward, similar to any university campus, with a cafeteria, dorm area, simulation rooms, labs, and a capsule room. Alan explored the space that he had access to, but couldn’t find any place to connect to the globalnet. The system was cut off, and no one was around.

  Alan accessed his Home through a capsule. The Administrator there wasn’t any help. This absence didn’t seem to alarm anyone else, and people started to gather in the designated assembly area, a gym-like room on the ground floor with plenty of space for everyone.

  Thinking it to be a test, Alan closed his eyes and activated Connect, one of his Machine Lord abilities, to see if there were any networks he could connect to. He was surprised to find that there was a network that seemed to reach everywhere, essentially a powerful wi-fi signal.

  Alan tried to connect to this network, but each time he was rebuffed by a hidden wall. Not one to be stopped, he activated another ability, Data Interaction, trying to force himself into the network. For a second, it felt like it worked and a small opening was created, but then his mind was shoved out. A message appeared:

  Unknown trigger. Error: Unable to decipher quest text. Error: Corruption.

  [˜b =e Y÷È«G.:

  ;ÖÌßa>u šoey¯p`ht`ÌçI( özŸDox-ÀSÐÅ®ŒýºNád~Gíêü§”€•jz%¼cc6{|‰=Ñ($U¯¾õ¸§Ùu–:‚v[åC øÝæË;³oÑ>

  G²•x|¶ì#‰šOÚï‹ÃÁq6Ë> ËUv”ýqÝwçðHqý.•Í29÷@7- •;Öä`Êît

  ªÏK§^[1]֏O“úù›LNTÇYž+]ýÕTÁŽØHý‹õáRñ@ùfö¢$†Î±N¬¼Yy¤îÕ

  ø; T³œéô…h…E&ù%j:qû|¸ï)ÇGήmgø‚ú§rã)<ÏgvyâÅaùNAUÊÀùçr:à`¡¯{§¦k Ž½‹æzߺZÀV

  A sudden headache hit him, and he noticed that his Computational Energy fell by half.

  Hey, Eve, what do you think about all this? Alan sent.

  All what? I have detected your abnormal pulse and heightened pain, Eve sent. What is causing this damage?

  What do you mean what? This Data Interaction ability t
hat just reads error and the corrupted quest message that popped up!

  I do not see Data Interaction under your abilities. What do you mean, Alan?

  Alan froze. When the Game had told him Data Interaction was a hidden ability, it had also mentioned that it would be hidden from other players. Alan had never imagined it would be hidden from Eve as well. Did that mean she was a player? Eve responded to these thoughts coursing through his head.

  I am not a player, nor can I become one as your AI. While bugs seem unlikely, it is not impossible that they exist. However, my research has uncovered no known bugs within the Game. They were patched out long ago.

  Alan reopened the undecipherable quest.

  Then how do you explain this?! Look, Eve, I have the quest window open before me and the error message is right there, don’t you see it?

  Alan, you currently have a blank quest screen open. I am concerned for your wellbeing. I would like to suggest a series of psychological examinations that may better—

  Stop. Act and make decisions on the assumption I’m not crazy, okay? Enough. We should get to the assembly area, we haven’t found anything useful in the facility.

  Very well.

  ***

  Alan quickly found Sidestep and Aurora chatting, though Kitana was missing.

  Sidestep waved at Alan. “Hey, find anything interesting? Let me tell you, you missed meeting some fine-looking gals. They had the right kinds of assets, too, if you get my drift.”

  “Enough of that, Sidestep,” Aurora said. “You know what you need to focus on, and it isn’t hitting on girls. I expect you to complete your exams within the standard two weeks.”

  “Um, right, two weeks,” Alan said. “You guys didn’t by any chance get another quest, did you?”