Jake sat in the sleek, metallic chair across from Ara's. It had been a while since it was just them two. Usually, he just stood back like a badass and watch Ara fly the ship while the co-pilot of their former squad sat next to her. Pehaps it was for the best that it was just him and her again for this brief moment since his piloting skills were getting rusty.
"You up for a drink?" Ala asked.
1."Yep."
2. "Nope."
3. [STAY QUIET]
"I'm good, thanks," Jake replied, trying to focus on the view outside the cockpit. The Veselye colony on Dionysus loomed ahead, a cluster of vibrant lights against the dark expanse of space.
"Too bad," Ala said, her tone light as she flew closer to the colony, "Because I do, and I need my wingman. And if we’re lucky, one of the patrons might wanna join us on our latest suicide mission."
Jake chuckled, "Good luck with that. Most sane people avoid death sentences."
"That's why I’m counting on your charm, Deuce," she teased as she shot him a sidelong glance, "Besides, it’s not like we’re going in unprepared."
Because it was Ala's birthday two weeks ago and both she and Jake wasted all but ten dits on booze, cosmetics, and poorly thought-out games of takyt'ent, Jake couldn't help but think of three things to say to his C.O:
1. "What do you mean?"
2. [JOKE] "Oh, we're totally prepared."
3. "You're not suggesting I play more tak, are you?"
While it was tempting to picky the joke-y option as usual, Jake asked derisively "Please tell me you're not expecting me to lose our remaining dits in tak."
"Of course not," Ala replied as all seven of her eyes sparkled with mischief, "I expect you to win."
The ship descended onto a nearby landing zone on the colony. It had not changed much since the last time Jake visited. The same neon signs flickered above the bustling market, and the air was thick with the scent of grilled meats and exotic spices. As they disembarked, the cacophony of voices and laughter enveloped them. Same NPCs doing the same things as always.
Ala pointed towards a lively establishment adorned with glowing holograms. "You think we might find some guys in here? Rumor is this place has the best drinks in Veselye."
Jake wandered in. Patrons laughed and shouted over the music, the clinking of glasses punctuated the lively chatter, and yet this bar was the same as any other bar on the planet. It was only the furniture and architecture that was different. As Jake sat at the bar, a menu popped up in front of his eyes displaying the various drinks on sale, all of which out of his current price range. As he closed the menu, a hulking brute of an alien with aquatic features grabbed him by his shoulder and bared some kind of indecipherable noise into Jake's ear.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
"He doesn't like you," a robot with a half-melted face slurred as he approached his alien partner.
1. [IGNORE THEM AND WAIT FOR ALA]
2. [FIGHT]
3. [JOKE] "I don't like you either."
Seeing the literal opportunity to make a Star Wars reference, Jake snarkily replied "I don't like you either."
"Oh," the robot responded, "And what don't you like about me?"
1. "Your friend. He's an asshole."
2. "Your face."
3. [IGNORE THEM AND WAIT FOR ALA]
A wise man would have picked the third option but, knowing Ala, she would have spent half an hour chatting up then fucking the brains out of the nearest man within a ten mile radius.
"Your face!" Jake replied in a manner more childish than he intended.
"Is that right?" the melted-face robot aggresively asked, "If you wanna go, let's go!"
As Jake got up from his seat, he saw their levels hovering above their heads. The robot was a level 10 while his alien friend was just one level above him. From his experience playing RPGs and trying to take on high-levelled enemies without grinding, he realized just how royally he had fucked himself.
"Uh, you know," Jake said sheepishly in an attempt to deflate the situation, "Now that I think about, you're actually pretty handso-"
A laser bolt burned through the middle of his brain before he even had the chance to finish his sentence.
Your life had just ran into a problem and needs to restart. We're just collecting some error info and then we'll restart it for you.
Stop code: CRITICAL_MISSION_FAILURE
Hint: Don't pick fights with strangers, you dumb fuck.
Jake awoke in a dimly lit room, the familiar sounds of the Veselye colony replaced by an eerie silence. He blinked against the light, trying to adjust his vision. As he looked around, he recognized the surroundings: it was where he woke up when he first entered this world. He sat up, feeling a strange sense of disorientation. His hands were intact—both organic and whole. No mechanical prosthetic. He checked his stats, and sure enough, everything was back to the beginning. Skills, experience points, even his inventory. All gone. He flexed his fingers before clenching both hands into fists and slamming them onto the table.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGH!!!! FUCK!" Jake screamed, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Why, motherfucker, why?! You goddamn piece of fuck idiot ass-fuck, why?! Goddamn son of a bastard-cunt fuck-ass bitch motherfuck-SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!"
After using nearly every swear word in the English language, he tucked his head into his hands and wept like a baby. The memories of battles fought and hard-earned XP felt like a cruel joke now. Unbeknownst to him, two Judge-class AutoCom units had entered the room he was in. They stared awkwardly at the sobbing meatbag before them as he spent the next ten minutes bawling his eyes out.
"You good?" One unit asked.
Jake looked up and sniffled before catching his breath, "Yeah, I'm fine. I've just been through a traumatic experience that resulted in me losing everything I had spent about two years building up. But I can get through this."
"My sensors indicate you are not fine," The other unit callously analyzed.
"HOW CAN I BE FINE?!" Jake shouted as the waterworks came loose again, "I spent two years stuck on level 1 and the only thing I accomplished was losing my virginity to a fucking jellyfish!"
The two units looked at each other then back at Jake before awkwardly exiting the room and leaving Jake to spend the next forty minutes crying to himself. Once those minutes had passed, Jake got up and took a deep breath.
"Get it together, Jake," he muttered to himself, "You can get through this. You got foresight. That means you can undo whatever mistakes you made before that barfight. And Wynni's still alive, which means you can pork her instead of Ala."
As if he had summoned the devil, Ala drunkenly slithered her way through the door and into the room.
"Someone say something about porking me?" Ala slurred.
