STORY ARC #4 HERO OF PENDOWN
Trust is Earned
“Trust me, this wasn’t in the mission briefing!”
This is a continuation of Securing the Control Room, part of a ‘Choose Your Own’ tale. Check out how you can contribute, as well as read other amazing entries here.
You decide to ignore the dead man’s warning and try to gather more information.
You extend your hand to shake his own, introducing yourself and Eshami.
“What is going on here?” you start vaguely, hoping this Olear will prove trustworthy.
“I’m just a man,” he answers shortly. “My government hired me to pilot this Prison Ark into the singularity. My family will be taken care of after I’m gone… I guess I just didn’t put much more thought into it.”
His face slowly darkens. “I certainly didn’t expect to face berserk servitors — or other universes! Trust me, this wasn’t in the mission briefing!”
“So why send these Arks into the singularity at all?” you ask.
Olear looks pensive for a moment. “Nobody wanted to be responsible for containing all these evil people and creatures, you know, in case there was an accident and they escaped…”
“Like now?”
Olear guffaws embarrassingly. “Touché. What can I say? This universe of yours was not supposed to be here. I don’t think anyone knew where we were throwing out our trash, so to speak.”
Eshami offers forth the next line of questioning. “Are you alone here? Surely a ship of this size has a crew.”
“Oh heavens, no!” Olear chuckles. “There are about 150 crewmembers — mostly human — assigned to each Ark. Oh, and there’s Ketal, too. Hello? Ketal? Come on out here and meet our new guests!”
The ghostly apparition from when you first appeared onboard — Ketal — spins up instantly from the metal floor. He is wearing a similar uniform to Olear, you quickly note. “Yes, Attendant?” Ketal turns to you and Eshami. “Ah, I see you’ve made it to the Control Room.”
So far to you, it seems like Olear treats your situation as if it were business as usual. Though the berserking servitors nearly killed him, his training seems to give him some sense of confidence in this crisis. You look at Eshami; she senses your intentions and nods approvingly.
“On our way here,” you begin cautiously, “we encountered a man trapped by some sort of… blood beast. We managed to free him, but his wounds were fatal.”
Olear frowns, pointing at the sealed doorway. “A man?”
“Yes, and he warned us not to trust you. Any ideas as to why he might have said that?”
“None,” he responds, unblinking. You look at Eshami, and she nods slowly. Perhaps he is telling the truth, you conclude. Maybe the man had been delirious with blood loss…
“As I see it, you and I will need to work together to regain control of the ship,” Olear continues.
He reaches for a gnomon-shaped object similar to Eshami’s hand crossbow, presenting it to you. “Take my laser pistol. It can fire a few shots if you’re desperate…”
You gingerly accept the gift, hopeful to get a chance to try it out, but also frightened of what creature you might need to use it upon. “Thank you,” you answer as you fasten its holster to your belt.
“I think the best way to move forward is to fly the ship into the closest star,” Olear continues. “To do that, we’ll need to inspect the Ballast Tanks, investigate the System Core in the Engine Room, and ensure that the Hold is secure.”
“After we rest.”
All present — including a disinterested Ketal — turn their heads to stare curiously at Eshami, standing with her arms crossed.
“I need to pray to recover my magic. We shall eat, pray, and rest. Then we can decide what demons we face!”
You smile at the healer who has become your trusted adventuring companion. “Of course,” you answer her in Elven, and her ears perk up momentarily. You tip your imaginary cap to the priestess.
After a few hours to pray and eat — Olear was generous enough to give you an extra pack of dry rations just in case — you settle down in your bedroll for some rest.
And while you, unlike Eshami who needs to recover her spells each day, welcome sleep usually, this cycle of rest is far from easy.
Your thoughts keep drifting from Eshami to that blood beast, to Olear, and back to Eshami…
You usually adventure alone. It was always easier for you not to create emotional attachments. This time shouldn’t be any different, but…
Your emotional unease leads to some unpleasant dreams, and you are relieved to wake up to Eshami’s smiling face.
“Good morning, my Hero,” she says somewhat playfully in Elven. You never learned to speak it fluently but you picked up smatterings over your career.
“Good morning, Eshami,” you answer back, still a bit too groggy to try for any elegance.
“I’m glad you’re both up!” Olear pulls himself out of a crawlspace where he had been enacting repairs to the devices in the room — devices that you and Eshami destroyed.
He pats down his overalls, and offers you a salute of sorts. “I’ve repaired the Vortex Controls, so I can teleport you throughout the ship any time you’re ready to go. Oh, and Ketal’s systems have been mended some, too.”
Ketal spins up out of the flooring at the mention of his name. “I will be able to monitor you, and can guide you should you require assistance,” he answers.
Well, there it is. Do you:
- Inspect the Ballast Tanks (click here).
- Explore the Engine Room (click here).
- Investigate the Hold (click here).
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