Into the Black

The in-base transport pod came quickly, since I was playing a Major right now. I took it to the base’s main gate, where I joined a bunch of young officers going on weekend liberty. I simply followed along, and was soon headed to a sketchy part of Luna between the main starport and the base. In other words, it was the place with the highest rate of bars and brothels per square foot on the moon.

Once I was clear of the other navy types, I ducked into an alleyway to change. The nanosuit I changed to be a hot pink color, and I endured the pain of shapeshifting again, this time making myself a blonde-haired beauty, with luscious lips, round hips, and a nice full chest, which I emphasized by opening the front of the suit to expose a good bit of cleavage. If I had more of a wardrobe, I could do something better, but I was limited in what I could do right now.

I also deactivated my spoof pretending to be the Major. I’d need a new persona for what I was about to do, since Military Intelligence was not exactly a subtle way to go about my plans. Fortunately, the Major was a spook, and had some basic software to set up fake IDs.

Forgery has increased to 2/100.

+1 INT

Hope Walters

Level 5 Human Female

Faction: Terran Empire

It wasn’t the best ID, but it would get me into a bar, and having creds would ensure I got a drink. I was looking for a spacer bar. I needed a quick ride off this rock, which meant preying on the young and stupid was my best bet. As such, I distributed my points from my level-up with three into Charisma and five into Luck. I just hoped that a 30 Luck score would help me find the right kind of spacer.

As I walked into a bar named the Willing Wench, I could tell that this was going to be JUST the kind of place I’d find the sort of morally bankrupt individual that would take a ‘naïve young thing’ out into space aboard his ship, probably to serve as the captain’s whore, or something similar. The bar was just the kind of thing you saw in every port, even in the real world. Common spacers, independent captains, smugglers, and the like all need a spot to kick back after a long run, and maybe pick up some new business. Most of the clientele were men, but the women who were here seemed to be split pretty evenly between those who looked pretty, and those who could kick ass. A set of stairs led to rooms that people would go up to for ‘privacy’, for a small fee, of course.

Looking around, I saw a poker game going on. Four of the five men at the table were rough-looking men, all clearly tough individuals. The fifth was a good-looking sort, and had this cocky, roguish air about him.

Lord Kickass

Level 15 Human

Faction: Terran Empire

Rank: Captain, Harlot’s Ruse

Titles: Hotshot, Captain

Vlad Baicu

Level 20 Human

Rank: Captain, Demon’s Bane

Titles: Captain

Athos Raimondo

Level 15 Human

Rank: Captain, Kakarot

Titles: Captain

Daniltsin Gerasim Vasilievich

Level 33 Human

Titles: Thug, Heavyweight, Brawler

Daniel Morrow

Level 30 Human

Titles: Killer, Cardsharp

As I quickly analyzed the players, I saw that the cocky guy was a player. Had to be, with a name like Lord Kickass. Two of the rough types were captains, probably smugglers. The fourth was probably muscle for one of the local crime families, and the last guy was a here to cheat these saps out of everything he could get them for. Or at least he was. With a smile, the man gathered his chips, and said, “Sorry, boys. But I’ve got to be going. Maintenance won’t do itself.” I saw what the man was doing. He’d made a good bit of money, but was leaving before anyone got too far in the hole. People were less likely to call him out on cheating if they still had some of their money left over.

I took that opportunity to be a ditz, and barrel straight into the conversation. “Ooh, then is this seat free? I love playing cards!” I giggled, and batted my eyes at Lord Kickass. The other three men were less stupid than the obvious teenager who was practically drooling to get a look down my suit. But since I was targeting the cocky prick, they clearly decided it would be fun to watch the show.

Gambling increased to 5/100

+1 CHA

Judge Intentions increased to 3/100.

+1 WIS

Mental Psy Mastery increased to 4/100.

+1 INT

Which is how I spent the next two hours playing cards. Vlad, Athos, and Gerasim all did fairly well, winning enough that they were keeping about even. My pile was growing steadily, however, mostly thanks to Lord Kickass. The idiot was too drunk to realize that he was getting played. Or that I was selectively using Mindread on him to know his hand. The three toughs let it slide, since I wasn’t playing them. No honor amongst thieves.

Finally, it came down to the climax. I egged Lord Kickass on until he put up his ship. He was too drunk to think straight, or understand why the toughs were snickering at him. But I could tell he was confident with that two pair, of Aces and Eights. Kid probably didn’t even know why that was a very unlucky hand to get, even if I wasn’t sitting on four twos, with a King kicker.

Congratulations on becoming the 13th player to become a Captain! You earn a title!

Captain

You are the Captain of a starship! You may now introduce yourself as Captain Mollen.

Well, he started to get the idea, once I laid my cards up, and took the keys and title to his ship. With speech that was heavily slurred by alcohol, he said, “Y-you cheated! Y’er gonna pay for that, bitch!” And he started to get up, though his balance was clearly shot from the booze. Hmm. Maybe I could get a little more use out of this idiot?

I hid a wink to the toughs, and said, “Aww, now why’d you have to go and ruin a perfectly good game of cards by throwing out nasty personal attacks like that? But I tell you what, Kicks. I’ll give you a chance to win that ship of yours back, in a different game. A more… hands on game. Think we can work something out?” I wasn’t really lacing the words with innuendo so much as pouring it on. Never trust a drunk man or an idiot to pick up on subtlety. That goes double for drunken idiots.

Fortunately, Lord Kickass was a horny bastard, so his mind went to the proper place as he got a stupid grin on his face, and nodded. I barely even needed to use my Influence power on him at all! “Good boy. Now, why don’t you go and rent us one of those rooms for the rest of the night, hmm?” He staggered off to do as he was told, and I flipped a hundred credits to the three remaining toughs. “Pleasure doing business with you, men.” They just laughed, and pocketed the credits.

I met Lord Kickass at the foot of the stairs, having paused to get a pair of drinks for us. I smiled at him, and handed him a drink, which he didn’t even bother to check before taking a swig as we headed up the stairs, his hand coming to rest on my ass with a smack. Oh, I was going to enjoy this!

We got to the room he rented, which was about what I expected: sparsely furnished, full of pornographic images, and with a bed that I shuddered to think what color it would turn under a black light. When we got inside and the door closed, Kickass grabbed me from behind, and said, “You’re gonna pay me what you owe, bitch! I’m gonna tag this fine ass all night long.” Sure, if someone as drunk as he was could even get it up.

I smiled, and turned to look at the man’s face. “Finish your drink, Kicks.” Another shot of Influence, and he downed the drink in one go. It only took a little bit more before the rohypnol went to work in his system, along with the alcohol. I’d gotten more than just money from the guards while I was gambling with them during my ‘training’. I still had twenty doses of the sedative in my inventory. Lord Kickass stumbled, and then fell onto the bed, out like a light.

Now, the fun began. I stripped the man of his clothes and gear, and used his bracers to send an official change of ownership form for the Harlot’s Ruse to the proper office, stating Mirikon Mollen was the buyer, for an unspecified sum. I looked over the gear to see what was worth keeping, and what I’d be selling. There were a few gems in the mix, I saw.

Charon Black Noir Duster

Type

Coat

Rank

Common

This black, synth-leather duster is made with modern techniques to offer superior protection while still giving that classic look of a duster that has been popular ever since the American West. Made by the Charon Designs company from their facility on Pluto’s moon.

+20 Physical Armor

+10 Energy Armor

+5% Force Resistance

+5 END, +5 CON

Elite Designs Energy Blade

Type

Blade

Rank

Rare

Damage

Special

Damage Type

Slashing

The Elite Designs Mk-23 Energy Blade creates a blade of light approximately 91 cm long, with a metal hilt almost 28 cm long. The hilt has a power switch to turn the weapon on and off, and clip to allow it to attach to a belt or other carrier. The Energy Blade is unique in that it ignores physical armor, and instead hits against Energy Armor. The Energy Blade can be used to block or deflect energy attacks as well as physical ones.

+10 Physical Attack with this weapon.

Damage based on Physical Attack

Defended against with Energy Armor

Creates light equivalent to flashlight.

Onyx Psyber Pistol

Type

Pistol

Rank

Common

Damage

20 – 30

Damage Type

Impact

A common entry level energy pistol, the Onyx Psyber Pistol uses Psy to charge shots, rather than physical ammunition. This means that the pistol hits against Energy Armor. The Cyber Pistol comes with a 15 shot clip, and recharging the clip takes 30 PP. Select fire allows user to toggle between lethal and stun shots.

Durability 25/25

15 shot clips. (30 PP to recharge)

Stun Shots: Stun shots deal Stun damage. If Stun damage equals current HP, target becomes unconscious. Stun damage heals at a rate of (CON/10) per minute.

Imperial Arms Psyber SMG

Type

Automatic

Rank

Common

Damage

30 – 45

Damage Type

Impact

Created by Imperial Arms, one of Earth’s premier weapons companies, the Psyber SMG is considered by many to be the entry level into psyshot automatic weapons. As with other psyshot weapons, it uses condensed Psy as ammunition, and attacks Energy Armor. Select fire allows user to switch between semi-automatic, 3 round bursts, and full auto fire.

Durability 25/25

30 shot clips. (90 PP to recharge)

The moment I saw that energy blade, I knew what this doofus spent his starting points on: getting a Jedi weapon. Well, it was a badass weapon, and I’d make sure that it went to much better use than ‘Lord Kickass’ could put it to. The other weapons were, apparently, common designs, useful for extended operations since they had no moving parts to jam, and relied on Psy, meaning you didn’t have to haul tons of ammo around. Less useful in a single, drawn out fight, though. Maybe I could find some spare clips for these, so I’d have reloads available.

I stored the energy blade on my belt, hid my multiweapon (in knife form) in my boot, attached the pistol to my hip opposite the heavy pistol, and put the SMG in my inventory. Then I threw the duster on over everything. Badass, I know, even as a perky blonde like I was now. But I didn’t want to risk changing before leaving the room, in case anyone was watching. Now I had to finish setting the scene before I left.

I pulled back the covers of the bed, and brought out the Major’s body. To my surprise, it was still warm, meaning that stuff in my inventory is basically in stasis for the duration. Probably why we weren’t allowed to put anything living in there. Still, good to know. I dumped the body on the bed, and then rolled Lord Kickass on top of her, before pulling the covers up. Any investigations into the Major’s disappearance would start with kinky sex gone wrong and a player’s involvement in her death.

Wearing my new gear, I strutted out of the room, hung a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door, and walked out, winking once again to the three toughs who were laughing to themselves at the table. Once I was out of the building, I found an unoccupied alleyway, and changed back to my ‘normal’ form. Time to go see my new ship.