Dark Matter Ascension-Chapter 7B3 - : A world of ice and snow

Jace was thankful for the weird energy canopy that thrummed around him and kept the barrage of sleet and ice from reaching him as he raced across the valley floor. If someone had come through recently, all traces would be obscured by the new fall. Glancing up at the skies overhead, he saw only the glittering of stars. A rogue planet, shooting through space and barely protected by a thin atmosphere.

Ollie had explained that the enormous size of the planet, and the fact that it had a high amount of hydrogen, kept it intact despite the lack of stellar heat. The core of the world was hot, which kept the whole place from becoming an ice ball. “But it is an artificial core,” he stated as they reached their destination on the far side of the valley.

But Jace saw something off in the distance. Movement. He stopped the vehicle and dimmed all of the running lights until it was fully shrouded. “Ollie, no living things on the surface, right?”

“Yup!”

“We assume these are Black Hole Conclave then?”

“Yup!”

“Right.” Jace dismounted and glanced at the transport, “I don’t want to risk losing this in the snow, can you tag it on the map?” Ollie waved his hand in front of Jace, and the vehicle appeared as a small icon on the map. “Thanks. Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 3).” Jace vanished and began walking on the snow thanks to the (Lightfoot) Augmentation on his Steelstalker Sabatons.

He drew his sword as he approached the black-cloaked figures. They were bundled in heavy winter gear, and were fussing about with some type of frozen object in the middle of a snowdrift. Three of them.

“I’m telling you, if we amplify the power any further, we are going to burn out the cores! Then you will have to go tell Renlas about our issue. That’s a four day trek through the valley.”

“Shut up! I will make sure it doesn’t overheat.”

“How can it even overheat? It’s freezing out here!”

Jace walked up behind them and quickly dispatched each with a single strike that decapitated them. “Dust them.”

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[Stardust Acquired: 120]

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Jace looked at what they had been looking at. A door that was frozen over. It looked like a bunker entrance, with a single, large porthole on the front to look through, and a complicated looking keypad. Going back to the hypercycle as he sheathed the blade and deactivated his Cloak, he brought the vehicle forward and turned on the heat ray.

There was a huge, shining beacon of orange light from the front of the vehicle as the ice almost instantly evaporated, and Jace had to turn it off before the heat fried the electronics. “Wow, that’s strong.”

“Yup,” Ollie replied as he tapped Jace’s head with his paws. “Let’s get inside! I want to see what is in it!”

Jace grimaced, “I forgot to get a new set of lockpicks and the e-pick module.” He drew his sword instead, activated Void Blade (Rank 1), and cut through the door’s edges with incredible ease. Immediately, he was greeted by a gush of tepid, warm air.

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[Warning! You are about to enter a Complex!]

[This location has been marked by The Cosmic System as Tier 1.]

[Number of creatures to rescue: 10.]

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[Quest: Clear the Complex.] 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

[Time Limit: N/A.]

[Reward: Common (Secret Cache) Boon.]

[Sender: The Cosmic System.]

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Jace glanced back at the vehicle, “Ollie, does that thing have a means of being hidden.”

“Could just bury it in the snow.”

Jace did just that, burying the vehicle near the entrance and piling snow on top. Once he was satisfied it was well-hidden, he descended into the complex. Carefully, cautiously, and meticulously. He’d been burned by traps before, and this place screamed that it was trapped in some way.

His cautious approach was well-deserved, as he spotted several odd slits along the walls. Slashing at them with his sword, he severed whatever control mechanisms were in place. Jace smiled, this is a lot easier than risking limb disabling them, he thought. Continuing his descent down the stairs and dealing with more traps in the same way, he encountered another door. Slashing through it, he stepped through and into a series of decontamination rooms.

“Research outpost of some type,” Ollie commented. “Very similar to what you encountered on Velenar Prime.”

“I thought that these Complexes would be survival shelters for their apocalypse.” Jace slashed through the next door and entered a room that appeared to be a control center of some type. It still had slightly glowing monitors, and it was surrounded by clear windows that showed a series of testing chambers. He saw mottled, brown and black colored objects in each. “But instead this looks like some type of testing lab.”

Ollie flew out of his hood and went to some of the monitors, interfacing with them as he spoke. “Magitech societies tend towards the scientific leaning and focusing on research, experimentation, and blending of their technological advancement and magical capabilities. They could have been testing local fauna to determine how to help them survive the cold conditions that would come. It was a swamp world before becoming a rogue planet, so it is entirely possible that they were conservationists and wanted to keep the wildlife safe.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Jace walked over to one of the windows and took a good look at the creature within while Ollie interfaced with the localized database. Jace could make out the fur-covered creatures that were curled up and appeared dormant. He saw the very faint lift and fall of breathing. “How’d they survive…however long this planet has been going?”

“The chambers put them into a state of suspended animation, or stasis.” Ollie smiled triumphantly and did a little fist-pump into the air, “Got it! They are called Portom, or Portoms for plural. They are akin to a herd animal.” He looked over at Jace with a quizzical expression, “But we are supposed to rescue them.”

Xera’s voice came over the comms, “Ollie, I am authorizing the use of TPS for the purpose of rescuing these creatures only, got it?”

“Right!” Ollie floated through the window and held his paw above the animal inside. “Activating TPS!”

The creature was…shrunk down and then sucked up into Ollie’s paw. “What was that?” Jace asked incredulously as he just saw the thing vanish.

Xera’s voice once more came over the commlink in his ear, “Tetradimensional Pocket Storage, or TPS. Effectively, short-term storage where we fully digitize something in order to transport it directly into The System, and then we can recreate it in one of several chambers here in Khrox.”

As Ollie went to the next cell, Jace leaned against a console and frowned. “You’re telling me I didn’t have to lug around pack this whole time?”

“…No, you did not have to.”

“Then why can’t I use this all the time so I don’t have to carry around a pack?”

“I’m using your energy as fuel for the effect, channeled through Ollie.”

Jace’s eyes went wide, “But I don’t feel anything. No energy loss.”

“Well, your [Innervating] Evolution to Cosmic Infusion is offsetting the cost. Still, doing this takes time; precious seconds that could cost you your life. Having items within reach without having to rely on TPS is worth the tradeoff. Such as the medical kit you had back on Nihilethelea when you lost your eye. You were practically tapped on energy. Imagine if your gear was in TPS? You would not have access to it.”

“That…makes sense,” Jace replied as he watched Ollie continue his work. “Still, for something big like the hypercycle, I’m sure it would be useful.”

“Perhaps. For now, I want to keep it to specific tasks. You are not the only one accessing TPS. And, quite frankly, the Tetradimension is getting quite full from the stuff I have stored in there.”

“What exactly is it?”

“I cannot say. Or rather, I will not say. The technological terms would go far over your head.”

That stung Jace a bit, because he knew that she could not lie to him thanks to the Broker Contract. Instead, he chose to just keep quiet and observed Ollie finish up his duties.

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[Quest Completed: Clear the Complex.]

[Time Limit: N/A.]

[Reward: Common (Secret Cache) Boon.]

[Sender: The Cosmic System.]

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Ollie flew over and nestled into his hood, “And just like that, one Complex down!”

“Really easy to get done,” Jace replied as he began making his way out of the facility.

“Target in sight.”

The voice of Deckard resonated in his ear, “Only take the shot if you know for sure it will be a killing strike.”

“Given the wind conditions and distance, I can’t guarantee a kill shot,” the shrouded sniper replied as flurries of snow continued to fall around him. He was four miles away on a small mountaintop that gave a commanding view of the surrounding region. Tracking this Flicker as he mounted his vehicle, he watched as the figure zoomed off into the distance, vanishing into the icy wind. “Target lost.”

“Damnit! How did you not kill him in The Cosmic Corridor?”

The sniper sighed, “Look, you’re not paying me a daily salary. The fact that I’m even talking to you is outside of my normal operational parameters. The Stardust reward is the only reason I’m even tolerating your interaction.” He stood up, brushed off the snow from his prosthetics, and transformed his legs into their tread configuration as he darted off, chasing down Flicker.

“Then get closer so that you can secure a kill.”

“Given these conditions? It is tough to do a long-range, absolute-certainty kill shot. I’d have to get far closer than I am comfortable with, and I am not a close up combatant.”

“Fine! I’ll find another mercenary who can do both!” Deckard was fuming over the commlink.

The sniper chuckled as his synthetic lungs breathed in the crisp, frigid air. “I’ll kill him. I just have to figure out where he is headed next.” He pulled up his map and looked at the list of Complexes. Based on his trajectory he is headed there, he thought. “I’ll contact you when the job is done.”

Jace rode for hours before arriving at the next Complex. An enormous mountain stood before him: a solitary peak amidst the snowdrifts. The edifice was coated in ice, and he followed the map to the entrance. Activating the heat ray, he melted the accumulated ice and snow before deactivating his vehicle to the side and covering it up in snow. “Think this Complex actually has something that could hurt me?”

“We will not know until you enter,” Ollie replied.

Jace drew his blade, activated Void Blade (Rank 1), and sliced his way into the facility.

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[Warning! You are about to enter a Complex!]

[This location has been marked by The Cosmic System as Tier ???.]

[Number of foes to clear out: ???.]

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[Quest: Disable the facility.]

[Time Limit: N/A.]

[Reward: Class Reset Crystal (equivalent).]

[Sender: The Cosmic System.]

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“How does the System not know how many things are in there? Or the Tier?” Jace asked.

“Whatever is powering the facility must be blocking the System from integrating.”

Jace froze in his tracks as he was about to step forward, “So this is like a System Glitch location…until I disable the facility.”

Ollie frowned, “Possibly. Try going forward, and if I vanish, then we’ll know for sure.”

Jace felt a cold chill down his back and took a few steps forward. Almost immediately, Ollie vanished as a message scrawled across his vision.

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[SYSTEM ERROR: UNMERGED LOCATION IDENTIFIED]

[Emergency Message dispatched: You have come across a location on a world that The Cosmic System was not able to fully assimilate through Cosmogenic Merging. Because of this, you may lose access to your Cosmic Power and Class Skills. Now that the System has been notified, it may take up to a minute to integrate. Please stand by.]

[…]

[ERROR!]

[System cannot merge the location. Localized force is preventing Cosmogenic Merging.]

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Jace couldn’t breathe. He was trying to, but the loss of Environmental Adaptation made it so that he could not breathe. Taking several steps back outside, he was able to suck in air as his Skills reactivated. Ollie appeared next to him with a pop. “Looks like the location must be cleared the old-fashioned way. Whatever is powering the complex is strong, potent enough to resist Cosmogenic Merging entirely. Which makes sense, if the core of the Complex functions as a Class Reset Crystal.”

Jace felt terror grip him, “I…I have to clear this Complex…without my powers?”

“Skills will not work. Your Equipment will still function except for the augmentations; hence why you did not freeze instantly, since Aegisleather is quite warm. Your NICIF is also going to be functional, just without the (Reactive) Augmentation. You have a Common (Equipment) Boon, we should use that for a breathing unit.”

Jace nodded numbly, “…Sure.”

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[Using Boon: Common (Equipment).]

[Manifesting.]

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A breathing unit appeared on his face, covering his nose and mouth. Ollie spoke softly, “This will turn the air here into something you can breathe.” He patted Jace’s cheek, “I have confidence in your abilities. You have amazing prosthetics and protective gear thanks to the Aegisleather you Tiered Up. I have the utmost faith in you.”

“As do I,” Xera softly said. “I believe in you.”

Jace sucked in several deep breaths as he tried to focus on what his mentor had taught him. Deep breath in…and out…in…he was able to calm the fear that gripped him and felt the confidence bubbling up in its place. I survived Velenar Prime during my Trial against worse odds. I’m going to do this. No, I will do this. “Okay…here we go.”

Jace stepped over the threshold and began his descent. The System message vanished, and he felt sluggish as his various enhancing Skills such as Cosmic Infusion faded. The breathing unit filtered the excess hydrogen from the air, and he was able to take calm breaths as he strode forward. I’ve got this.