Havok Bringer

Chapter 15. Sherlock

I did not expect to see a giant swamp donkey. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but this? No, not this. As I watched the giant beast blast into the clearing no more than 30 yards away from me, I was completely caught off guard, so much so that I didn’t even manage to brace when the thing charged and subsequently smashed into me at full speed.

“Ummph,” I hit the ground and rolled as the wind left my lungs.

The outline of the display on my helmet flashed red as multiple warnings and alarms rang in my ears.

“Captain Dawes, I suggest you take evasive maneuvers immediately,” The localized AI of my suit announced.

“No shit, Sherlock,” I grunted as I reached one hand down instinctively to grasp at my now tender midsection.

AI designation updated to Sherlock.

The message quickly scrolled across my interface as I got to my knees. I didn’t have time to consider it as the Swamp Donkey spun around for another charge.

The beast was huge and impossibly fast, even in the shin-deep water. It turned to face me again as it reared up on its hind legs and bellowed a loud “Hee-haw,” but this time, the sound came in visible waves. The sound waves took me in the chest as, once again, I went flying backward to slam hard into a large tree.

“The thing has some sort of sonic attack!” I said to myself as once again I got to my knees.

“That is correct, Captain Dawes. This particular beast is capable of a variety of different attacks, including but not limited to sonic attacks. The Beast also has powerful hind legs capable of damaging even the Havok Bringer armor. I suggest you avoid those at all costs,” Sherlock said.

“You are just a wealth of obvious information, Sherlock,” I said as I looked up just in time to see the donkey charging again. This time, I was ready; I braced and waited.

“Captain, I suggest evasive maneuvers,” Sherlock repeated.

“Not yet,” I said as I tensed and waited.

The donkey lowered its head, directly aligning the large menacing horn with my body.

“Captain, I believe the beast intends to impale you. Evasive maneuvers are strongly advised,” Sherlock said.

“Hold….Hold….Hold…” I repeated quietly as the donkey rushed toward me, head lowered and horn right in front of my face.

Just as it was about to impale me, I straightened and fell to my right side. I mentally engaged my suit's thrusters and shot to the side of the charging beast as water and steam shot into the air.

I only needed to burn for a second before I was clear and heard a loud thud. Once I stopped, I immediately shot up into a crouched position, raised my rifle, and surprisingly saw the donkey struggling as the lone horn on top of its head penetrated entirely through the large truck of the tree.

“Captain, I advise you to use lethal force. It is only a matter of time before the beast uses its sonic attack. At that range, it will likely splinter the tree and release itself,” Sherlock said.

“Fair enough, I guess,” I said as I once again raised my rifle and took aim at the beast's head.

With a squeeze of the trigger, I fired three shots directly at the head of the beast just as it began to bellow again. It was too late. The plasma rounds made contact and exploded the head of the beast like a melon. Blood and gore showered the area as the massive body went limp and splashed into the murky water.

I immediately noticed my XP bar tick up and felt a slight pang of excitement. I didn’t think I would be gaining any levels on Earth since there were no system-initiated enemies to my knowledge. The seed of power mission was necessary, but the knowledge that I could be gaining levels and getting stronger made it all the more exciting.

“I got a good chunk of XP of that one donkey,” I said to myself, forgetting about Sherlock as I spoke.

“Correct, Captain. By my calculations, that one beast alone was approximately 1/25th of the experience needed to achieve your next level,” Sherlock replied.

“I keep forgetting about you,” I replied as I slogged through the muck to get a closer look at the remains of the swamp donkey.

“I hope to remedy that, Captain, as I am here to assist you,” Sherlock replied, “If I am becoming a nuisance, you can, however, mute my speech function or convert my messages to text only,” Sherlock said.

“No, it’s fine. I’m actually happy for the company since it seems I will be alone for the foreseeable future. One thing, though, I don’t have to call you Sherlock; I was being facetious when I said that earlier. I didn’t mean actually to name you that,” I said.

“I believe that Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character in earth literature. He is known for his proficiency in observation, deduction, forensic science, and logical reasoning. Is that a fair assessment?” Sherlock asked.

“Ugh, yeah. I would say you just about nailed it,” I said.

“Well, as it seems that you are lacking in nearly all of those areas, and I am not, I would presume to say the name fits perfectly,” Sherlock said.

“The fuck? Did you just call me dumb?” I asked incredulously.

“I would never presume to know the full cerebral capacity you possess, Captain; I only wish to state that I haven’t seen credible evidence to say otherwise,” Sherlock said.

“Hey man, I am plenty smart! I was an engineer before the drop. That is kind of a big deal where I am from!” I said with obvious aggravation as I raised my hands in frustration.

“Ahh, I wasn’t aware, Captain. So, you are capable of reading blueprints and ensuring that various construction elements are placed in the corresponding places. It is my understanding that the youths of your planet are also engineers then as they often play with toys called Legos, I believe?” Sherlock said.

“I did more than that, or, I planned to. I was just a few years into my career when the drop happened. I took the first good job I could find. Everyone has to start somewhere!” I replied.

“Understood, Captain. You are brilliant, I'm sure,” Sherlock replied.

“What the… hey! You work for me, not the other way around!” I replied as I stomped the murky water.

“I am responsible for providing assistance to the current user of the Havok Bringer armor and ensuring that it is used as effectively as possible. I do not work for you, Captain, but I understand your meaning,” Sherlock replied.

“Alright, alright, truce,” I said, waving my hands, “Let's just take a look at this thing and see If we can figure out how to get to a safe zone. Now that I know these things give me a good experience, I want to take down as many as possible. I don’t know what is on the other levels of this tower, but I will assume that enemies don’t get weaker as we go. I have a feeling I will need every level I can get,” I said.

“Understood, Captain. Initiating scan of the carcass now,” Sherlock said as a horizontal light projected horizontally from the top of my helmet.

“Since when can I do that?” I asked, surprised.

“This capability was made accessible at level 25, Captain. There are many subsystems of the Havok Bringer armor that you have yet to access. Most are locked behind a predetermined-level firewall. This particular ability allows you to scan corpses and carcasses for useable materials or loot. The other option would have been to dissect the carcass and physically search for these items,” Sherlock replied.

“Is there anything else I can do that I don’t know about?” I asked.

“No, Captain. You discovered your propulsion system and now your scanning ability. Those were unlocked at levels 25 and 30, respectively. You were unaware of these functions since you made such a large jump in levels at one time. Elvis was meant to educate you on the new functions but was preoccupied with his new form. I was also not completely programmed and field-ready until just before we entered Earth’s atmosphere,” Sherlock said.

“fair enough,” I sighed, “just make sure you inform me as more functions and abilities are unlocked,” I said.

“Understood, Captain,” Sherlock replied.

Information flooded my screen as the light scanned the carcass of the horned swamp donkey. Most of it was useless as it showed the genetic makeup, galaxy or origin, age of the beast, and so on. When the scan was complete, several lines of green text populated on my interface.

Consumable materials detected – None

Crafting materials detected – Horn of the Swamp Donkey

Rarity – Planetary

Effects – Used to create basic stabbing and slashing weapons. This horn can be used to craft basic melee weapons.

Requirements – An advanced Carbon fabrication chamber and suitable blueprints are required.

Warning: this material can be used to improve existing melee weapons but can also be detrimental if said weapons are more advanced than the crafting material used.

“Hey, we have one of those fabricators on the Bloodhound, right?” I asked.

“Correct, Captain. The horn is a mid-level crafting material. I am afraid that both your black hole daggers and the swords you received after slaying Anthrogor will not benefit from the use of this item,” Sherlock replied.

“Eh, I’m still gonna hold onto it. We may find some use for it later,” I shrugged as I grasped the horn and ripped it from the tree trunk it was still stuck in.

“Alright, I guess we just search for a safe room now. If we see more of those donkeys along the way, I’ll just have to be sure they have a bad day,” I said as I began walking deeper into the swamp.

“He said he had a dream and got some kind of mission from the Coeus; that is all I know. We were supposed to start planning for it later today; that is when he was going to talk to everyone about it. I didn’t know he would be transported completely away. How could I have known that!” Tiff said.

She was sitting in the Hab the crew had built before Matty, Jax, and the rest left for New York. CJ and Kaj had carried her there after the whole possession thing happened. CJ had draped a blanket over her shoulders even though it was not remotely cold out, and she was cupping a fresh cup of coffee in her hands. As she explained, CJ couldn’t help but notice how….normal she looked. Sure, Tiff mostly looked human. There were times when her blue eyes flashed, or she moved with super-human speed. During those times, CJ was reminded just how alien she was, but now? She just looked tired and beaten.

She held the steaming cup of coffee up to her lips but didn’t drink as she stared off into nothingness and tried to explain.

“I don’t know how they were able to just take my body over the way they did. It’s like they used a slave program or something, but the complexity of that type of program is so far beyond my understanding that I can’t even begin to perceive it,” She said, finally bringing the cup up to her lips to take a sip.

“It’s okay, Tiff. We know you don’t have all the answers, but we’re just trying to make sure we didn’t miss anything. It sounds like Andy is okay for now, at least. If what the Coeus said is true, he should be contacting you soon,” CJ said as he knelt beside Tiff and put a hand on her shoulder.

Tiff looked up, concern on her tired face, “CJ, Andrew is alone. Not once has he been alone during all of this. He has had me, you, or the rest of the crew there to help him. He doesn’t have anyone now,” She looked back down, staring distantly into nothing.

“Tiff, he will be okay. He always is; he just seems to find a way,” CJ said, again squeezing her shoulder and trying to reassure her.

“I updated the rest of the crew; they ran into some trouble but will be here as soon as possible. They have one more stop to make but assured me that it won't be long. Elvis is not taking it well, though. Matty and Jax had to try to contain him when he heard the news. They assured him that they would be back tomorrow night at the latest, and he reluctantly agreed that there is nothing they can do until someone hears from the captain,” Kaj said as he walked into the hab.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Dawes came walking into the hab. She was obviously also concerned for her son, but when she saw Tiff, she demanded that everyone else leave the hab for a while. Everyone obliged as they left the hab to check on the settlement and ensure there were no other issues.

Mrs. Dawes knelt on the floor in front of Tiff, concern showing in the deep lines on her face. She gently touched Tiff’s chin and raised her head to look into her eyes.

“I can see why he likes you,” Mrs. Dawes said with a light smile as she wrapped her arms around Tiff and warmly hugged her.

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