No time to waste. As soon as I woke up, I got to work on a key to plug into the system. Since the security system throughout the city is relatively similar, it shouldn't be hard to replicate an access code of the same origin from a previous job. I connected my wristech to my laptop and transferred several codes, in case the first few didn't work. Since it's a universal system, it will run on a number of security codes, not just one — and since it's a relatively public record, that makes it even easier. I unplugged the device, put it back on my wrist, then headed out.
I got on my bike and headed south — towards the shipping yards. As I was driving I noticed a huge crowd of people standing in front of a building as I stopped at a traffic light. There was a man at a podium speaking.
"Ladies and Gentlemen I'd like to thank you all for coming to the showcase this morning! My name is Seran and I am the CEO of Artech."
The crowd clapped. It was a pretty large crowd, but I guess Artech is the most probable candidate to own Nazul city, so it makes sense.
He continued, "I'm sure you've all heard of project AMTI. Well, today, I have finally been given the pleasure to showcase it for you live." He reached his arms out to his sides as four robots rose up from the ground. Two on each side of him.
I heard of project AMTI about a year ago when it was still in the prototype phase. Their goal was to create an automated police force which was not only stronger than the current force, but more capable. This would also help reduce the amount of on duty casualties and human biases. They had previous units, but these are supposed to be the first fully automated ever.
"These units here are going to be the new age main force for security and police in this city. They have an on board targeting computer and built in weapon system, and they operate without any assistance what-so-ever. We even managed to input its own repair system," he said as he reached down next to the podium.
He pulled out three small squares with what looked like propellers in the middle. "Watch this," he said. He pulled up his wrist and pushed a button on his wristech. One of the units activated.
He threw the cubes in the air. The robot's hand instantly switched into a small barrel and it shot all three squares out of the air.
"This is just one of their many abilities! They also have built in thruster packs, allowing them to fly and maneuver easily throughout the city without the need of a vehicle."
He motioned towards the robot again. A few tubes came out of their back. Short blue flames shot out and the robot began to float. It levitated in place for a minute, then flew high. So high you couldn't even see it with the sun glaring down.
It came back into view and flew over the crowd's heads at an incredible speed, easily faster than most carrier ships.
Maybe even faster than my bike, but I doubt it. My bike is too good to be beat by this glorified ingot.
It flew back around and back into its original place. The flames died and the thrusters retracted. The crowd waited a moment, then clapped in awe.
"Thank you. We have been working very hard to deliver this to you. Sadly, this is all we can showcase for you today, but not to worry! You will see these in action soon enough throughout the city. Now -" HONKK! The horn of the car behind me went off. I looked up — the light was green. I quickly sped up down the road.
After about another twenty minutes of driving, I made it to the loading docks. I pulled up to the main building and parked my bike.
"The quicker I get it done, the better chance I have of getting out without being caught," I thought.
The shipping and receiving records are not open to everyone. They're open to only those authorized to work at the docks, high-ranking members in Artech, Triage Armory, and Freearms.
I walked up to the dirty exterior. It was said to have once been white and gold, but by now it was more of a grey and off-yellow. I made my way up the side part of the stairs and walked in through the front doors.
The building was relatively large, with a thirty foot glass ceiling, cut out in different geometric shapes. The main lobby consisted of mainly white, with gold and light gray accents. I guess the interior stayed the original design.
It was a pretty cool room, but I need to get into the main server room where all the data is stored. A typical kiosk won't have that info.
The reason I had to come here in the first place is because those files are on a local network which can only be accessed by in-house systems. Otherwise, I probably would have just done it from my room.
I made my way up a set of stairs towards the left of the main lobby and down a wide hall. The colors shifted to dark dingy grays and rusty metallic colors on the floors and walls. The hall walls had doors on both sides, most with boxes and crates stacked next to it.
The doors on the right were all docking areas — those were for air transport. The doors on the left are a mixture of offices and lounge rooms, for meetings, and people running each dock.
There weren't too many people in the building, mostly just workers and a few businessmen from smaller companies within the city. I did happen to notice a group of people who I had never seen. They had dark green and gray military uniforms.
It was strange to see a group like that here. There must have been a UCG business meeting in the city — there seemed to be a lot of those lately. Most likely to do with that new robotic police force.
I made my way farther down the hall, towards another hallway. I turned the corner and saw a singular door about five feet in front of me. This is the server room, at the center of the building.
The building was a cylinder, about ten stories high, stacked with docks all around it. I was on floor five — the center — which connects the data of all the levels in the building. Slowly, I started prying back the —
"Hey!"
I heard a voice from behind. Slowly, I turned around to see a figure standing there. They walked closer.
"Vera right? Yeah I remember your face," he said. "You remember me, right?"
"Oh — uh, yeah. You are…" I said as I stared him up and down. He had brown dress shoes on with khaki pants, a belt, and a white with blue and red thin plaid striped button up. His hair was light brown and very curly. He also had a pair of glasses on that made his green eyes look like golf balls. His body was skinny and he was about my height.
I had no clue who I was looking at.
"You forgot, didn't you?"
"Um — yeah, sorry."
"No, it's alright. I get it. When you go around constantly saving people, I bet they all blur together." he said, nodding his head subtly.
"Yeah," I said slowly
"Well, anyway, I'm the guy you saved from the tree the other day," he said. "John!"
Tree…tree…saved him from a tree…I did that? Oh wait, it's coming back to me now.
About two weeks ago, I was wandering through the city killing time, when I just so happened to walk past a guy yelling for help in a tree. I went over to see what was going on and found him standing on the top branches of a twenty foot tree. Apparently he thought it was a good idea to test a homemade jetpack off his front balcony. Using some sort of liquid burnable energy or something, I think he called it gasoline. Long story short he fell about thirty stories while the jetpack twirled him around like a deflating balloon. He just so happened to be lucky enough to land on that tree.
As for the jetpack, well, the liquid inside exploded and incinerated a set of swings. Interesting guy to say the least.
"Thank you for that again!"
"Oh yeah, um no problem," I said. "So, can I help you?"
He smiled back
"Right! Well, I noticed you were trying to open this door here, but it's reserved for employees only, sooooo I was just coming over to see what you're doing"
"Um, nothing. Just making sure it was locked, of course."
"Is that why the keycard panel is dangling from the wall?"
"Alright, look — I need to get in there. There's some very important information I need for a job, and it would be a great help if you could open it for me, y'know since I saved you and all the other day." Let's hope that's enough to convince him.
"Once again, thank you, but I can't do that"
"It's really important. It's for a corporate official," I said, trying to stay calm. He clearly wasn't catching onto it though.
"Why aren't they here or why didn't they give you an access key?"
"They must've forgotten, they have a lot of things to do", simple enough explanation and it's not entirely a lie.
"Can't you just call them and ask?"
"Alright look, I'm here to find out where a special type of dangerous metal is being shipped to, so I can find the guys and stop them before something really bad happens. It's supposed to be secretive, so they can't know I'm looking."
"Oh well why didn't you just say so? I'd be glad to assist you in protecting the city!" He unlocked the door with his badge.
"Thank you," I said, trying to speed past him into the room. I wasted enough time already. He grabbed my arm.
"Just don't tell anyone I did this for you. I'm only helping you because you helped me."
"Umm, trust me, I won't. Thank you." I said, shaking my arm from his grip.
"Good. Take care now, and don't forget to fix the panel on your way out," he said, waving his fingers as the door closed.
That was annoying.
I ran to the center of the room, plugged my wristech into the port, and transferred the keys. Hundreds of numbers ran down the screen on the device and then it flashed green. We're in!
I searched through the folders. It didn't take me too long to find the shipping and receiving log. I quickly began to scroll down looking for keywords, like talamite or something with its properties.
Then I found it. Three shipments, extra large. Their content was marked as "unknown". They were labeled for four months ago, which lines up with the robberies. They seem to have been received from the city Laragoi, from the southern continent, Austri. I scrolled down further, but found no other suspicious files. Those had to be the ones, but three extra large shipments? That's nearly two tons per shipment. What do they need that much for?
Only one way to find out. I had to go to the city of Laragoi. There, I will most likely find the company responsible for these (or at least find the provider).
I unplugged my wristech and walked out the door. I turned and quickly fixed the keycard panel, then made my way down to the lobby. Thankfully, I didn't see the guy that let me in.
I got on my bike and drove back to the guild.
I walked in through the front doors and immediately noticed the main lobby was nearly empty. There were only five people, which was a little odd.
Maybe they attacked here, too? No, they wouldn't. Taking on two luminaries is risky, but a whole guild? That's suicide.
So where were they all?
I heard distant cheering. I made my way down the hall towards the training rooms — where the yelling came from. I walked by the combat projection room and then heard yelling coming from the viewing platform.
I turned around and peeked into the doorway. Almost everyone in the guild was there. I made my way to the crowd. A couple members looked at me as I slowly pushed my way through the front.
Colt called out as I squeezed by. "Vera! Hey everyone, Vera's here!"
"Oh yeah, now Sein has a real challenger!" said Eliana, a fit woman with blonde hair who specialized in lightning magic.
"If anyone can do this, it's her! I mean she did run past my room like a bullet yesterday," said Jace. He was a tan, somewhat muscular guy. who has a form of ice magic.
"I don't think this is a great idea, guys. I've already had to heal Drik, Travis and James for pulling muscles and fractures," said Aleusa, a small girl with long red hair who specializes in healing magic.
"Oh, Aleusa! Relax, we're just having fun," said Gord, a tall, well built man. If he isn't working out, he's drinking. And right now, he was sitting in a corner with a bottle in his hand, so clearly he wasn't participating in whatever this was.
"Yeah, chill out, icicle! Long as all the cute girls are here for me to look, at I'll be just fine," said Drik — a messy-haired dumbass who specializes in metal magic.
She rolled her eyes at his stupid comment.
I spoke up. "So what am I giving Sein a run for her money in?"
"Vera, come here! I'll explain it," said Miko.
"Alright, you see that there?" He pointed at some cylinders sticking out of the wall at the other side of the projection room. There was a projected path with guides on each side like barriers.
"Yeah, what is it?", I asked
"It's a new training course, designed to help you dodge bullets. With guns becoming far more prevalent in cities and on jobs and most people not having enough magic to create strong enough defensive barriers. Kato figured this would be a good addition to our training, to help our dexterity and creative magic abilities and he made it a competition," he said, pointing at a scoreboard.
I scanned the board and I saw almost everyone's name on there. In the top five was Travis, a skinnier guy with long dark hair. He specializes in a type of magic that allows him to have ghost-like abilities. He got five feet, Yuka had seven.
Yuka is a small girl who uses a form of air magic that she usually uses to fly. She can use it on herself and the things around her.
Eugine with ten feet. He had short black spiky hair and a muscular body. He uses water magic.
Colt got eleven feet. He had yet to unlock his abilities like me and Tessara, but he was proficient with just about any rifle and hand to hand combat.
Finally, there was Sein with fifteen feet. That's fifteen feet of dodging bullets. She has a type of magic that can magnetize and manipulate polarities, so she probably tried to shift the bullets, but failed since I doubt they're metal.
"Oh — I forgot to mention one thing. You can't use weapons," said Miko.
No weapons, that makes it even harder.
"Looks like I'm right on time," said Tessara. I turned to see her push right to the front of the crowd. I looked at the track and then Tessara and then stopped to think for a moment.
I don't have time to waste on stupid games. I need to start preparing to leave right away. Laragoi was about a six hour flight by carrier, but I don't exactly have that kind of money — which means we're driving and taking a boat.
In other words, the trip goes from six hours to about fifteen hours. I don't have time to compete in this.
I started to walk off from the crowd and didn't say a word. Then Tessara grabbed my arm and looked me in the eye. She didn't say a word, but I knew what she meant.
As small or insignificant as it seemed, this was another challenge I felt like I had to overcome. Just because it's small doesn't mean I should ignore it. And if it gets my mind off recent events, then whatever. If I do this, it could also improve my speed and intuition, which in turn would make me better in a fight.
Right, so this is something I need to do to prevent more events like the attack at the shop or the incident with Garry. I turned around. "Alright, fine. Where's the starting line?"
"Right down there," said Sein, pointing at a black line on the training floor. "Now let's watch you get blasted at the two foot mark."
Sein was easily one of the best in the guild and she even had several bruises on her arms. Even if she was one of the best, that doesn't mean I should back down. I stepped down the stairs onto the floor, put my foot on the black line and assessed the track.
"Alright! Once the speaker beeps five times, you're good to go," said Miko. "Good luck!"
"Yeah, you got this Vera!!" Tessara was yelling from the sidelines, just as energetic as ever.
A beeping noise started. It beeped, one, two, three, four, and on the fifth beep the line turned red. I rushed in, I wanted to cover as much ground in as little time as possible.
The cylinders started shooting the moment my foot touched the track. The training room floor was metal, and it was smooth. I could use that to my advantage. Since it was smooth, I could slide, or maybe not. Too predictable of a path if I slide, same with jumping. I need to stay on my feet if I want to get far. Keep as much control as possible.
Dark rubber bullets flew at me. Even if they can't kill me, it will definitely hurt. I started a constant zig zag rhythm.
The bullets started to get dangerously close. They're tracking my movements and adjusting.
Thankfully the fire rate isn't too fast, given the bullets need some time to set into the rotating chamber, gain speed and actually launch. but with them tracking my path, I need to be more inconsistent if I want to make it far.
I almost crossed the first line, marking ten feet. All it takes is one bullet for the course to end, no matter where it hits. Since the bullets were dark it was hard to tell where they were.
I had to follow the angle of the gun barrels. I tried to continuously move inconsistently, but I always fell into some sort of rhythm. As it stood, I was barely keeping up.
BAM! A bullet flew right by ear, the buzz of it spinning zipping into my eardrum.
That was too close. I needed a new tactic.
Suddenly, I had a realization: the guns were setting the speed for this test. That had to change. I was too focused on dodging their bullets, letting them control my actions. What if, instead, I forced them to follow me? Not just control my movements, but maybe even their targeting.
I shifted my focus. I stopped fixating on the bullets flying past me and focused on my own actions — my speed, my movement. That was what mattered.
I was faster now, I could feel it. I flew past the twenty foot line and saw a bullet fly through my hair. I'm ahead of their shots, but that was far too close.
I switched directions and slid
I hopped back on my feet. Another realization hit me. I kept zig-zagging back and forth. That was slowing me down.
I had to create a clear path. It was risky, but at this point, it was the only way forward. I listened close to the whirring noise of the guns.
They're reloading.
I darted straight forward, taking advantage of this window.
I flew straight forward in between the cylinders, right as they were turning to shoot at me, but it was too late.
I crossed the finish line and slammed into the back wall.
I won.
I collapsed, exhausted. I did it. I actually did it.
I felt Aleusa dragging me, muttering under her breath.
"Oh, good! You didn't kill yourself! At least that's one less person to heal,", she said as she walked off. All I could hear was cheering and yelling.
"Hey, Vera," said Colt, picking me up and onto my feet. "Look, you won this!"
He handed me a tiny silver bullet. I held it in my hand and looked at it.
Tessara pushed Colt aside.
"You were amazing!!!" She yelled and squeezed me. "You even managed to beat Sein! That's crazy!"
"Yeah, yeah. It's not that crazy."
Those were the words that came out, but I was honestly pretty impressed with myself. I beat one of the best in the guild. But that victory was short lived in my mind as I remembered what still needed to be done.
"What'd you get? Lemme see!" Asked Tessara
"Oh nothin' much, just this little bullet, I guess. Not sure why."
"That's the prize for whoever finishes first. It's custom made, from Artech, so we thought it'd be a pretty cool little prize," said Colt.
She grabbed it out of my hand. "Oh, wow! That's so cool!"
"If you think it's that cool, you can keep it," I said. After all, if it wasn't for her stopping me, I would've never been able to complete this.
"Really?! Thank you!!" She hugged me. "Anyways, I'm tired, so I'm going to go back to my room now."
"Not so fast," said Sein, whipping me around. She looked pretty pissed.
"I think you cheated, but I guess there's no way to prove it, so I'll let it slide this one time, got it?"
"Wow, how generous of you," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Um, excuse me—" she started to ramble on, but I just pushed my way through the backslapping and yelling of the crowd back to my room.
Tessara was right on my heels.
"So why were you about to leave earlier?"
Right, I haven't told her yet what I found.
"Because I think I know where the metal is coming from."
"Where!?"
"A city called Laragoi on the southern continent of Austri."
"Sounds like a fun little road trip," she said with anticipation.
"Oh yeah, real fun," I said sarcastically, Since I would be the only one driving.
"Anyways, I'm leaving tomorrow morning so—"
"You mean we're leaving tomorrow morning," she said, cutting me off.
"If you want, I guess—"
"Um, no. It's not a 'if you want,'" she said in a mocking tone. "I am going, always. We're best friends. Wherever you go, I go"
"If you say so, I guess." I don't know about best friends — more like work partners, but whatever works for her I guess.
"And don't you worry! I'll be up and ready to go, right on time!"
"Ok, then. Well, I'll see you tomorrow morning."
With that, she went out the door, down the hall and up the stairs to her room. I doubt she's going to sleep tonight. I bet she's going to pack half her room.
Who cares? I'll worry about that later. For now, I need to make sure I'm ready.