Being transformed into an Aveeran, fortunately, hadn’t destroyed his sense of bance, but many things still felt off–chief among them, the overwhelming increased fidelity of his vision and hearing. He o be mobile, and he o be deadly, right now.

  As if on cue, runic text appeared in his vision, slowly unfurling into letters and symbols he could uand. Halsey was still with him.

  Okay, Shawn, I’m synced up with you. You got something useful! I was right about you!

  Halsey, this is a bad time for a tutorial! We’re in a crisis! He remembered that he could project thoughts to that presehis Halsey, keeping his promise to keep her existence a secret. He gently tested his ban his new feet, hia and Telga stood, the way he envisiohey spread their body weight. His muscle response was sharp, almost instant, and he spread the talooes widely, for bance. But the elongated ankle joint threw him off as he tried to move in a way that wasn’t part of his natural gait, he almost stumbled. Cire grabbed him before he could topple.

  “Shawn, I don’t want to question your sanity, but are you still you?” she asked worriedly.

  “I’m Shawecost, born August sixth, at Baystate Medical ter. My parents are Marie and Ja Pe. You told me in freshmen year of college that you had a crush on Nancy, from your art css. I almost died of hypothermia when I tried to rescue Maggie, when she broke through the i the river when I was fifteen. Satisfied?” he asked warily. She let out a measured sigh of relief.

  “Yeah, you’re you. You’re just a different you. Wow, you’re tall now.” It wasn’t until she said it, that he realized he was at least several timeters taller–almost to Telga’s height. “ you stand?”

  “Yeah.” He could feel his brain slowly mapping out the movements, muscle memory was returning to a form he’d never possessed before, and he kept watg the motions of the other aveeran, the way they shifted their bodies, and their leg stride. He felt like every nerve was wiring iime; he felt steady, after a few seds. He narrowed his gaze at the door. “How long before they’re here, where’s our exit?”

  “Portal is charging, down the hall! Five minutes!” the rusty red and greehered Aveeran with emerald-colored eyes got his attention, with a perpetual scowl on his face, ated by a faint scar line where feathers didn’t grow, just above his eye. “You idiots picked a bad time to try to throw things to ce! I hope you got a gestalt that doesn’t kill all of us!”

  Almost as if on cue, more runic text appeared.

  Shawn, the gestalts, you have choices to make. I don’t remember much or If I have been barred access, but you trol what happe. There are a few figurations of the Etteria that may be useful to you!

  Halsey, I’m barely standing here, and we’ve got e the gate! It was disorienting to see this presence his vision while the chaos swirled. He motioo Garrett, and poio a set of fabric armor sitting oable, simir to his. “Help me put that on. I fight.”

  “Shawn, you are in no shape to be fighting!” Cire protested.

  “Then pit. It sounds like we o hold out for five minutes.”

  “Shawn, you are insane.” Her lip trembled, but she slowly nodded, ahe g down oable, only to grab another rifle, exami, and loaded more rounds. “Cripes guys, what other tech did you borrow from Earth?”

  “Whatever the summoned bring with them or remember how to restruct,” Garrett answered. “Our tech is all over the pce, as a result. Doesn’t help that our p is a giant jigsaw puzzle, either.” Shawn in the meantime was trying to feel out just what he could do. He could feel a vibration in his body, like there was an energy c just below his feathers.

  His feathers. He couldn’t even fathom this one just yet. Halsey picked up on his distress.

  I need your input, from the following options. These abilities are tied to your personality, I have a limited list from my end. Information seems restricted.

  Halsey, what exactly are you? Some kind of magical struct? An artificial intelligence? One of those annoyihered gods that are taking a wreg ball to my life? He really hoped that st one wasn’t true.

  I don’t know. I’m something more than I was before. I remember the e to something greater, a starburst of vast power. I remember the cutting bde of being severed, and a long darkness, cold and ung. Now I’m tapped into you, but a lingering thread to that greatness remains. That’s our ticket to survive.

  I think I’ve narrowed down your choices. You could be a brute. A destroyer. There would be no barrier you couldn’t break, no will you could not bend, no enemy you couldn’t tear apart.

  No. Anything but that. That’s not who I am.

  But it was an influen you. Once.

  He winced and shook his head. No. I want nothing to do with that. I will never be that man.

  A huhen? You took a liking to the outdoors, and with this, there would be no trap you ’t sniff out, no shot you couldn’t make, no wilderness you could not navigate and make it your home.

  That’s on the right track. But, what else could we figure it to be?

  I have one more that might be a match for your personality. It would build on your knowledge and your passions. You could be an Arist Engineer. You could make the impossible, producible! There would be no problem you couldn’t pn and prepare for!

  He felt like that was the right choice, before she even finished. I think I know what I need, Halsey.

  Alright, but a warning: There is no means of reversing the choice, once made. The Etteria in your body only figure one of these. There may be more ways to enhand stre, ter...but I think this choice, is the most important one of all.

  Training, or pying with dangerous magical rocks? Yeah, I won’t be toug any more Etteria anytime soon.

  All this information was fed to him while he strapped on armor over his ruined clothes, aed the snugness of the vest and leggings on his new form. He tried not to tear the fabric with his new cws, though his finger motio precise, and not g dexterity.

  Garrett called out that the invaders were approag the bulkhead. He helped him secure the vest over his wings, aed the strength and fast response of these new limbs. He felt the rush of blood to these remities–they seemed quite sensitive, and he could feel minute air currents. But his focus was on this immense choice before him–on choosing his future gestalt, with this strange presen his head guiding him. Oion, he could rule out immediately.

  Alright, I rule out being a brute. Never a brute.

  He pohe other two choices. Being a hunter was one he might have a leaning toward. He liked the idea of being self-suffit, able to work indepely. He’d spent his early twenties with friends, practig camping and hunting–activities he still enjoyed. But…was it the right call, for now?

  He threw on a pair of armored bracers that Garrett handed him, while a charge tio build in the background. “Shawn, they’re almost at the door. You better be ready!” Garrett insisted. Shawn ched his new beak firmly, eyes narrowed on that st barrier between them, and the unknown enemy.

  “Just about,” he answered while eyeing the on oable. Funally, it had all the appearance of a lever a firearm. If he didn’t know better, it could have been made by Wier er. But, created by an avian alien.

  Being a hunter would be a good py, Halsey. I’m a good shot, and know how to hunt already, and know how to learn the y of the nd.

  But, he had one more choice.

  Being an Arist engineer could be the winning move because it was core to his identity. He could design almost anything, or could stand to be a bulwark against what was ing with innovation and daring. But, what would help the most, here?

  If I may, Shawn? What do you stand by, in life?

  Making lives better, and having a pn for any problem. That means, that I’ve got one logical choiake. I just o be brave enough to take a leap of faith. And that I o live long enough to put it to good use.

  He took a shaky breath before he grabbed the rifle, and checked if a round was chambered, by edging by the lever a ever so gently. This felt intimately familiar. This part of him, the training, had not left him.

  Garrett gave him a knowing nod. “You’re familiar with that?”

  “It’s close enough.” He closed the a fully and examihe feed tube slide, befrabbing the alchemical rounds in a specialized case. The size of the rounds indicated substantial stopping power–he hoped.

  “They’re almost here. Everyo defending, fall back to the portal room!” Garret bellowed out as a warning to the anxious people–mostly Aveeran, though there were, strangely, a few humans. He also spotted two wolf-like people who fell back to the barricaded door down the hall. Cire loaded a rifle, and a few pounds off the bench, examining them. “This looks dangerous,” she muttered.

  “Cire, fall back. Keep that crystal and yourself guarded. We might still ,” he insisted before he shouldered the rifle, and moved swiftly to cover. Regia, Garrett, and Telga did the same. He took a measured breath, and took the plunge on his decision.

  Halsey, we’re going with the arist engineer. I’ll build myself a solution to topple a god. I ’t outpower him, but maybe, I outthink him.

  I khat might be the choice you would make. Alright, let's route this Etteria...

  A whirl of power crackled across his body, and he shuddered involuntarily as those wisps of gold and teal energy circled his body, less painful tharansformation, but still persistent enough. He felt a spider web of pain through his extremities, then gravitated towards his core, out to the tips of the wings. He felt wired, and alive.

  “Shawn, ylowing again, please don’t cat fire,” Cire insisted from her vantage point.

  “I’m good.” His answer was throaty, and he could feel the power resonating within him. He focused on the door, where a thunderous banging sound roag. “Keep a suppressive fire on the door. We need a stant volley of rounds to keep them suppressed. Call out your reloads. Garrett, how many rounds are iube?”

  “Six, plus one in the chamber,” he answered, eyes peering down the sights of his rifle. “Save yestalts for when you have to reload. I’ve got a gestalt that gives me preotor movements, and I burst speed my body for short periods. Also, I’m a bit te on the greetings. But, gd to have you, Shawn. Also, sorry that you got transformed.”

  “It could have been worse. I could have gotten turned into a slime girl.” Garret let out a g ugh, even as he rested the stock of the rifle on the er of the wall, steadying his aim. Shaw rock solid, his limbs tense and trolled. Mlyphs appeared, and persisted, he bottom of his eyes, but not obsg his vision.

  I feel a trace of the Etteria w, it’s figuring your physiology. I’m still trying to figure out what, exactly, you’ll be able to do.

  How do I use these abilities?

  You’ll feel it by instinct, the Etteria seems to help people figure it out on their own by trial and error. For these, you will direct your ability through your limbs. You feel that buzz through your body, now? You are brimming with mana energy, and dangerously overloaded.

  I suggest you use it, so you don’t…you know, bee fried Aveeran. The etteria is f pathways through your body, like ara nerve ter.

  He let out a nervous ugh that had Cire on edge. “Uh, are you…okay over there?” she asked anxiously.

  The door resounded with an enormous impact. He sighted down the on, feeling energy c through his cw tips. “Cire, I feel profoundly messed up. So let’s not die here.”

  Another impact. The door deformed inwards, the steel bug, and a few rivets popped out. “How effective are these rounds against anic targets?” he asked Garrett, aking his eye off his target–the doorway under assault.

  “Brace your shoulder tightly. They're effective enough. Ahout magical shielding is in for a bad time.” Shawn took the moment to cycle a round with one fluid pump of the lever a, just to check how well the a worked, and caught the ejected g, mid-air, in a burst of dexterity. He quickly ied it bato the tube. “Dohis before?” Garrett asked with keen i.

  “For hunting, and stationary targets.”

  Garrett chuckled in response. “Don’t hesitate. They won’t. Telga, you fall back first, down the hall. Dispce, fire, dispce. We’re buying time.”

  The banging sound stopped–and for two seds, all sound seemed to stop. Shawn could feel the heat of power in his hand, as if looking for an outlet.

  The door burst inwards and skidded to the ground with a deafening g, and Shawn shouldered the rifle, aiming at the foes beyond. The brute in front, a monstrous wolf-like humanoid a blue and biform with piecemeal metal armor, stood at the forefront. Bd grey fur matted his body, and he poi them, fangs bared and poisonous green eyes fixated on them in hatred.

  “Brielga alive. Kill the rest.” A searing ball of fire appeared in the wolven foe’s hand, and he lobbed it right at him.

  These guys have messed with the wrong engineer...

  Spoiler

  [colpse]