Dark Matter Ascension-Chapter 17B3 - : The body-swapper’s hideout

Jace felt the projectile coming at him and turned on Void Shield (Rank 6) just before it impacted, nullifying the shot. Wheeling around, he spotted the large, armored drone flying with some type of mixed rotor and booster on the bottom. An enormous tank-sized barrel jutted out from the bottom, and it flew hundreds of feet up in the sky.

“Ollie? Is that the same thing that blew my chest out?”

Yup! Ollie replied in his mind.

Jace took stock of his energy. Not enough to use my beam, he thought. “Quinn, I need your help.” He sidestepped the next shot, his enhanced reflexes able to work in conjunction with Edge’s Intuition to ensure he was able to remove himself from the line of fire.

“What do you need?” she asked.

“Stratagems; as many as you can stack,” Jace replied as he began running towards the icy mound that marked the edge of the walls surrounding the Complex he had just cleared.

“Activating everything! Also, Coordinator’s Critical Gaze for the weak spot damage amplification.”

Jace saw his HUD overlaid with Quinn’s golden-hued one, and saw the various timers appear in the top right corner alongside his energy reserve. Additionally, he saw a glowing, golden targeting reticle appear on the underside of the thing. It’s a long way to throw, he thought. It could probably dodge unless it can sense the weapon is there. He threw his still-active Void Blade Nethaldrim at the drone.

The weapon impaled the thing through the weak spot, and the drone crashed down to the ice. “Huh…that was easy.” Jace recalled his weapon and ran over to the downed vehicle, cutting it to bits and finding another weird microchip. “Ollie…we should take a detour back to Khrox to make sure you reintegrate and track down whoever keeps sending these things after me.”

Quinn cleared her throat to interject, “Head back to the apartment first, give the microchips to me, and I’ll track for you.”

Jace pulled the hypercycle out of storage and drove off towards The Cosmic Corridor.

“Damnit!” Tonda shouted as he came online again in his default chassis: a basic, skeletal-frame robot for simple movement and no additional add ons. That was my last goddamn drone-type chassis! he thought.

He was fuming and looked back through the video log. I shot him. But on the way, the bullet hit some type of invisible barrier surrounding him and vanished. He has defensive Skills that I can’t bypass with normal ammunition: I’d need some type of skip-round to get through the barrier. And I have to determine the thickness of the barrier to get the right skip round. Then, he pulled his arm back and made a throwing motion: and my rotor was disabled. Thanks to the blizzard conditions, the thrusters along weren’t enough to keep me aloft.

He walked over to his largest and most powerful chassis, sitting down in the chair next to it as he uploaded his consciousness to the W4RFR4M3 Titan Chassis that had cost him several hundred thousand Stardust to put together. This time, he thought, I don’t take any chances. Let’s see whoever this person is stand up to an obliteration laser.

It took less time to travel on this go around because Jace made a straight line for the portal, rather than dashing between Complexes in a zig-zag method. Racing through the portal, he was instantly transported to the apartment’s ground floor which had been completely cleared out. His hypercycle vanished from under him and zipped into his TPSB. Going to the elevator, he punched the button for Quinn’s level of the complex and knocked on her door.

She answered dressed in pajamas covered in bunny rabbits, “Hey, got the chips?”

Jace pulled the two items from his TPSB, “Yup. Microchip from both things I killed.”

Quinn waved for him to enter as she took the chips and put them into an odd, square-shaped device with a lid that she sealed up. “A chamber to make sure that it is air gapped and whoever owns these does not know what we are doing,” she stated. Sitting down at her console which had grown substantially since Jace last saw it: with dozens of screens that she seemed to be tracking with occasional glances: she worked through some type of complex program.

Jace looked around the otherwise plain space that was practically bare, “Do you have anything in here except your console?”

“Bedroom,” Quinn muttered in reply.

Jace looked at the monitors that displayed the Celestial Observers above his allies, who were on some alien world aboard a flying machine. “They’re out dealing with another Astral Incursion?”

“Just finished dealing with it,” Quinn replied. “They are all doing well, but Priam has expressed some dismay that you are advancing faster than him towards Tier 10.”

Jace sighed, “Yeah, I figured there would be a little resentment because Xera is prioritizing me.”

“It’s not all bad,” Quinn replied. “I’m making a killing off these digital markets and thanks to Xera’s contract, I distribute the funds to the other not-you Signers in an equal split. They are progressing, just slower than you.”

Jace nodded as Quinn made a satisfied noise, “Got it! The Ascendant is named Tonda, Nebula Cosmic Power and Flux Ascended Power. Tier 7. Heavily cybernetic thanks to Cosmogenic Merging at the time of his planet’s technological advancement. He’s a mercenary. And” she turned in her chair with a smile on her face, “We got his address here in Khrox.”

Xera’s voice came over the comms, “Attacking Ascendants or Aspirants in Khrox is permitted, remember.”

Jace nodded, “Then first things first. Ollie? Want to reintegrate?”

Sure! He replied in Jace’s thoughts. Xera, how does this work?”

“Just leave Jace,” she replied over the comms. “And then you’ll have some registration to do to re-enroll in the servers.”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Ollie split from Jace’s head, and Jace hissed in pain as the worst headache he had ever had suddenly hit him. “Dark Matter Mending (Rank 1),” he growled out. Thankfully, the pain vanished. “Fucking ouch,” he stated.

Quinn smirked and shook her head, “The longer you’re merged in Verge Protocol, the worst it will hurt because you’re ripping the code from your brain. It’s more complex than that, but I know you’re not the most technically savvy: despite your recent Skill acquisition.”

Jace saw Ollie was busy interfacing with various screens. “Well, we’re in Khrox. I’m going to go deal with this Ascendant once and for all.”

“I’ll be monitoring!” Quinn said as she turned back to her consoles.

Ollie nodded and muttered, “I will join you once I am done registering. Stupid contracts you have to scroll all the way through.”

Jace turned and left the apartment, heading downstairs, and out to the street. Walking towards the address Quinn had put in his HUD, the world shifted, and he found himself in front of a building just like the one he had left, but with a dull, red exterior.

Walking up the main steps, he paused and glanced down at his hand. To his relief, the Symbol was still the masked Star and Gigastar. “That you doing that, Xera?”

“Yes,” she replied. “In Khrox or The Cosmic Corridor, I can suppress symbols in either a small space: like at the party you had not too long ago: or for individuals.”

“Going to let me take the Skill that lets me hide it anywhere?” Jace asked. “Especially since Ollie can only do it while merged and separating himself from the System?”

There was a pause before the response. A long pause. “Yes. I trust you to not betray me. Use your Stardust right now to level up.” Her voice sounded hard and determined, but there was an undercurrent of sincerity.

Ollie popped into place next to him before wrapping around his neck. “Much better! No hood to hide in, but that is fine.” He tapped Jace’s armor with his little paw, the paw phasing through it. “Oh! Better idea!” he merged all but his head into the armor, and Jace could feel the fuzzy form pressed against his shoulders. “Right! So, we are leveling up?”

“Yes,” Xera replied. “I have unlocked the Skill.”

“Exciting,” Ollie stated. “Here we go!”

-----

Name: Jace Seren (Aspirant, Tier 7)

Power [Class Level]: Dark Matter [Swordmage <Wrathblade> 100] / Void [Edge 37]

Skill Name (Rank) [Evolutions]: Universal Translation, Environmental Adaptation, Swordmage Stance (Rank 3) [Astral Annihilator], Dark Matter Dart (Rank 4) [Exploding], Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 3) [Group], Dark Energy Mine (Rank 3) [Distant], Cosmic Infusion (Rank 10) [Innervating], Dark Matter Mending (Rank 4) [Vampiric], Energy Cost Reduction (Rank 10) [Siphoning], Mage's Mark (Rank 5), Wrath's Embrace (Rank 10) [Focused], Ruination Razor (Rank 3) [Wrecking], Raging Cleave (Rank 10), Aura of Wrath (Rank 11), Void Blade (Rank 5) [Rending], Void Shield (Rank 6) [Reflecting][Wall][Sphere], Void Beam (Rank 1) [Limited Range], Edge's Intuition (Rank 5) [Danger-Sense], Edge of Possibility (Rank 3), Void Counter (Rank 10), Void Step (Rank 7), Symbol Shift (Rank 1), Arbiter's Anathema (3/day), Shadow Nebula Smokescreen (1/day), Hope's Edge (1/day), Steel Gale Stride (1/day), Primalist's Command (1/day), Reaper's Shadowstep (1/day), Archmage's Admixture (1/day)

Stardust: 1,515

Equipment: (Returning / Adaptable) Nethaldrim, (Medium / Snowguard / Burnguard / Repairing) Reaper Armor, Ghostlight Grapnel Arm, (Thrice Judged) Anathema Arm, (Overclocked / Lightfoot) Steelstalker Sabatons, (Terrifying / Sealing) All-Seeing Dragon's Eyes, Primal Hide, Adamantine Skeleton, (Reactive) NICIF, TPSB, survival meals (x50), enhanced canteen, (Restful) Wildercloth tent, Devilsram wool bedroll, Blood-Infused Holy Water (x3), Hypercycle, x60 lbs. of Starheart Steel, Lightning Rifle, Godheart (Corrupted Crab)

Boons: Epic (Augmentation), Legendary (Skill Evolution)

-----

Symbol Shift (Rank 1): the user may change their Cosmic Power and Ascended Power symbol at-will to display any selection; including masking as a Civilian when on their home world or in The Cosmic System proper (Khrox and The Cosmic Corridor).

-----

Jace saw a small interface appear above his hand with a variety of symbols he could tap in a holographic display, and instinctively knew that if he tapped one, the symbols on his hand would swap accordingly. “And they can’t see faction affiliation thanks to the fingers,” he muttered as he turned his attention back to the apartment door.

“Yup!” Ollie replied. “Now let us go kill a body switcher!”

Tonda was back on Poltor Six when he received a notification that caused him to stop in his tracks. His enormous W4RFR4M3 Titan Chassis grinding to a halt as he received the news that someone had destroyed all his backups. Every chassis, every microchip holding his consciousness for recovery…he was isolated now to his singular frame.

How?! He wondered in thought alone as the Chassis he was in did not have access to vocalization, sacrificing all utility for sheer combat prowess. How did someone track down and find my base?

Then, it hit him. The person I was going after that downed my drone. Did they find my microchip and reverse search? No, my programs would have warned me. Unless they somehow had a deep level of System access: Civilian contact? Someone working in data entry with higher-than-usual interface permissions?

There were many possibilities, but Tonda felt fear grip him. Despite swapping out most of who he was for mechanical components and the surety of metal, he still had his emotions, personality, and mind: just in digitized form. But someone had not just obliterated all backups, his connection to his apartment was severed. He could not even pull up the information on the camera feeds.

And without a Wayfinder, which he had dismissed upon completing his Ascension Trial…he was without the means to interface with the System at all until he returned to Khrox. Checking his Stardust reserves, he saw that he still had hundreds of thousands of the currency. Good, he thought. I have enough I can buy more chassis. This mission for the Conclave is going to just be that extra bit to help me get a nice extra upgrade. I just have to be vigilant and not die.

That put a chill through him, but also excitement. Tonda had not been close to death in many, many millennia. His backups were always close by, in a manner of speaking, thanks to the System. But now, if he died, he would die for good. And there was a thrill that came along with the idea that for the first time in a long time, if he failed, he would cease to be.

Jace finished carving through the apartment under the guise of his Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 3). He cut apart everything he found that looked remotely electronic or metallic in nature, and Quinn through her Celestial Observer was able to confirm that he had destroyed everything. “Head back to the apartment and I can offload your TPSB for anything you want to sell.”

Jace nodded and left the apartment, warping through Khrox to return to Quinn’s residence. Knocking politely, he entered, and she gestured to a pad he had noticed before but not really inquired about. “Put the stuff there,” she directed.

Jace offloaded the Starheart Steel, all the extra equipment he had gathered in the form of weapons and armor and stood up. The supplies all vanished, and glancing at a screen as Quinn did so, he saw the items appear in some sort of warehouse: packaged and labeled. “You can sell all this stuff?”

Quinn smiled, “Yes. I’m going to be selling all of it on your behalf. The lightning guns won’t be selling for much because they are relatively simple magitech. But the Starheart Steel? That’s a lot of value. It will take a bit to find the best deal though.”

Jace nodded and pulled out the Godheart of the Corrupted Crab deity, placing it on Quinn’s desk. “Give this to Priam when he arrives.”

She nodded, “Got you covered.” She glanced at him and flashed a smile, “Get back to Poltor Six; the Conclave is racing you to Complexes, and you don’t want them stealing your goods, do you?”

Jace shook his head, “We’ll beat them there, right Ollie?”

“Yup!”

He left the apartment, firing off a quick message to Shhiv before he forgot, apologizing for not seeing her. But clearing these Complexes was more important in the short-term than spending time with his partner. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Warping through Khrox to The Cosmic Corridor, he walked through the portal leading to Poltor Six, pulled out the hypercycle, and began heading towards the direction he had departed from less than a day before.