Where it All Begins - Part 3
I swallowed the mucus that began to pool in my mouth. "Then why me? Especially if you've seen my record?"
"I chose you precisely because of your record - because of the incident in your second year at OCS. Fourteen ensigns killed. You were wounded and spent two months in rehabilitation. Plasma burns are particularly painful, too my understanding."
I rubbed my hands together. "Yes."
"The lieutenant responsible was your CO on that training mission. You refused to testify against him despite overwhelming evidence and the testimony of his fellow officers . . . and friends."
"Yes"
"They told the board of review the secret the Lieutenant had entrusted to you all - that he was going to test his new theory to make Slipspace jumps more accurate. He was worn, and you all paid for his eagerness and poor mathematics."
I studied my hands as I felt my senses sink inward. Dr. Halsey's voice started to sound distant. "Yes"
"Despite continuing pressure, you never testified. They threatened to demote you, charge you with insubordination, and refusing a direct order - even discharge you from the Navy." She paused as she let her word sink in. "Your fellow officer candidates testified, though. The review board had all the evidence they need ed to court-martial your CO. They put you on the report and dropped all further disciplinary actions."
I said nothing. My head hung low.
"That is why you are here, Lieutenant - because you have an ability that is exceedingly rare in the military. You can keep a secret." She drew in a long breath and added, "You may have to keep many secrets after this mission is over."
I looked up. Halsey had a strange look in her eyes. Pity? That caught me off guard and I looked away. But I felt better than I had ever felt since OCS. Someone trusted me again.
"I think," she said, "That you would rather be on the Magellan. Fighting and dying on the frontier."
"No, I -" I caught myself before I spoke the lie, then corrected myself. "Yes. The UNSC needs every man and woman patrolling the Outer Colonies. Between the raiders and the insurrections, it's a wonder it all hasn't fallen apart."
"Indeed, Lieutenant, ever since we left Earth's gravity, well, we've been fighting one another for every cubic centimeter of vacuum - from Mars to the Jovian Moons to the Hydra System Massacres and on to the hindered bushfire wars in the Outer Colonies. It has always been on the brink of falling apart. That's why we're here."
"To observe one child?" I ask. "What difference could a child make?"
One of her eyebrows arched. "This child could be more useful to the UNSC than a fleet of destroyers, a thousand Junior Grade Lieutenants - or even me. In the end, the child may be the only thing that makes any difference."
[Approaching Eridanus Two]
"Plot an atmospheric vector for the Luxor spaceport." Dr. Halsey ordered. "Lieutenant Keyes, make read to land."
{10 minute before Han's Landing / Eridanus Star System, Eridanus Two, Elysium City, Outside of Primary education Facility No. 119}
[Aira]
[ ... wake up]
[Aira, Wake UP!]
"Ahh" I let out as I jerked up. I took a look around at my surroundings. Nothing looked familiar to me. 'Where am I?'
[Your currently in an alleyway just next to one of the Primary Education Facilities of Elysium City]
"Ahhh, My head's pounding," I moan.
[You'll be fine Aira. Its just the symptoms your soul traveling through the void to get here.]
"The void?"
[Its what splits the different universes and realms from one another. Just another countermeasure to prevent dimensional cracking]
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Eve"
[Its fine Alia. You should check up on your status and quests right now. You only have 10 minutes before the Han lands and Dr. Halsey and Lieutenant Keyes come here]
'Oh shoot. Status'
[Status:
Name: Alia Dawn
Level: 0
Class: Apostle of Death
Sub-Class: none
Titles: Reincarnator, Beloved by Death
Age: 0 (AN/: She doesn't have age as she is 'dead')
Health: 100 | Stamina: 100 | Mana: 100
Health regen: 0.1/sec | Stamina regen: 5/sec | Mana regen: 5/sec
Endurance: 10 | Strength: 10 | Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10 | Agility: 10 | Derexity: 10
Unused stat point: 0
Constitution: Healthy
Description: Height of 4 ft 1 in with white silky hair that comes down to the bottom of her shoulder blades. Turquoise eyes, slim stature. A little loli. With the strength of an average man in his prime.
Skills <>
Innate Talents <>
Mutations <>]
'Eve, what do the stats mean? And are they good or?'
[Health represents your current body's status. Even though you can't die, your current body can still be damaged. When you get hurt you lose health proportionate to the damage you took. This means you lose more health if you lose a leg than if you got a cut. Think of health as your current body's fighting efficacy]
[Stamina is the amount of energy your body has for certain moves or skills. If you sprint you will burn stamina. Certain skills will also consume stamina. When you run out of stamina, your muscles will cramp up and you will be unable to move easily. Skills that consume stamina will be locked and you won't be able to sprint, etc]
[Mana is a source of energy that certain skills run on. The more mana you have, the more you can use skills]
[Endurance is a stat that is directly related to your health with a ratio of 1 endurance to 10 health. For Health regen, it is 1 endurance to 0.5 points of health regen per second]
[Strength refers to the amount of potential power your muscles hold. Keep in mind it is potential power. Normally, you cannot use all of your strength, but if you can overclock your body to do so. This will cause your muscles to use all of there potential strength, but it will drain stamina and hurt your body in the process. Don't overclock your body repeatedly without proper rest as it can cripple your body. Also, strength is what your stamina is based on. The ratio of strength to stamina is 1:10. It also is linked with your stamina regen. 1 point in strength is equal to 0.5 points of regen per second]
[Intelligence decides your mana capacity. 1 point of intelligence equals 10 points of mana]
[Wisdom decides the mana regen. 1 point of wisdom equals 0.5 points of mana regen per second]
[Agility refers to your speed and flexibility. The more agile you are, the faster you become and the more flexible your body is]
[Derexity is what decides your reaction time and body coordination. The more derexity you have, the faster your response to attacks and the better you can control and coordinate your movements]
[Your status is equal to that of a man in his prime. So for now, you have sufficient strength]
'Ughhh. Eve, you're making my headache worse. I understand this information is important but its too much right now.'
[Sorry, Alia. But I just gave you what you wanted]
'Did ... did you just sound cheeky?'
[Whatever do you mean, Alia. It's just your headache]
'Sure... So where are my soulbound items? And wheres the rest of the system?'
[Your soulbound items are in your inventory. You can access your inventory by thinking 'inventory' or you can will the items directly to equip on your body]
[The rest of the system can be accessed by thinking 'menu']
'I see' I think before trying to will my pistols to me. I feel a weight appear on my hips out of nowhere and when I look down I see both pistols in a sheath. "That's handy," I say as I will them into and out of my inventory repeatedly.
[Aila, you should access your menu]
"Ah, your right. Hehe," I hear Eve mumble about something about an incapable host in the back of my head. 'Hey it's not my fault that the inventory is so cool' I grumble before opening my menu.
[Menu
- Inventory
- !Quests!
- Gacha
- Map
- Shop]