Condition Evolution 2: A LitRPG / Gamelit Adventure by Sinclair, Kevin (black female authors txt) 📗

“Really, and where is this place you want to take us to?” I said, suspiciously.

Calegg took a deep breath, “Look. You guys seem okay and I don’t want to ruin this. You’ve trusted me to be part of your crew, so I’m going to level with you. I assume you don’t know about the Torax, my race?”

“No. We know nothing about your race. Is there something we need to know?”

“Nobody wants to work with a Torax. We’re considered untrustworthy from a racial misdemeanor, long in the past. Our ability to both withstand and create fire makes people very uncomfortable.”

“Seriously! You can create fire?” I said in awe, but Ember talked over me.

“What was the misdemeanor?”

“My people didn’t come into space navigation on our own. Around a thousand years ago we were invaded by one of the more powerful races of the galaxy at that time. They were far more advanced with much better weapons, yet still massively underprepared to face the Torax. We’re essentially fireproof. Even laser rifles only sting. You want to fight the Torax, then you better be packing a projectile weapon. Which are pretty much obsolete in the more technologically-advanced races.”

“That’s pretty fucking cool, Calegg. So, what the hell happened?”

He looked both defeated and excited to continue the story. “They came. Just a small exploratory crew at first. They tried to build a base, only it was destroyed, and their crew were all killed. A larger force came next, and they too were destroyed. Before long, wave after wave came, full of wrath. They just couldn’t get it into their technologically-advanced brains that we were impervious to their weapons.

“Eventually, when they realized they couldn’t take control of us by force, they made an offer; Submit, or have our planet destroyed. At this point we discovered they had a huge planet-destroying ship in orbit.”

“Hang on a damn minute,” I said angrily, scratching my head. “So, how the hell are Torax considered the bad guys here? You were under attack on your home planet!”

“The story isn’t yet finished. My ancestors chose another way. This war had gone on for nearly twenty years and in that time they learned all they could of the technology, and had been capturing enemy vessels too. Hidden in the massive cave systems on our planet was a fleet of our own. They surprised the enemy in a space battle and took control of the planet-destroyer ship. They flew the ship all the way back to the completely-terraformed home solar system of their enemy. They were helpless against their own ship. My ancestors destroyed fifteen planets back to the bare rock. An entire race wiped out of existence.”

“You’re shitting me, right?” I asked, gob-smacked.

Ember looked equally dumbfounded, mouthing ‘what the fuck.’

“I’m afraid so. The other powers in the galaxy united against us and massacred my people. Those who survived are generally not allowed off Torax. We can leave for specific purposes but aren’t allowed to gather in big numbers, and no one trusts us.”

“Woo! Now, that’s what I call a misdemeanor,” Ember chuckled. “Still, totally justified if it’s exactly as you said,”

“I won’t hold what your people did against you. I agree with Ember. As long as you're cool with us, we're cool with you,” I said.

The relief was palpable on him. “I’ll be cool. Promise,” he said, almost childlike, and we saw his vulnerability then. “I must be honest, though,” he continued and hung his head. “I did qualify as a mechanic two years ago. I aced all my classes too. But I haven’t been able to find any work since, so I’m a little rusty. Please don’t judge me too quickly. I promise I’ll make a good impression. You’ll be wanting me to stay on by the time we’re finished with this job, I guarantee. I’m willing to give my all to help you.”

“Well, I hope so. That’s pretty much what we hope for if it works out. So, why did you really not buy anything to fix the ship? Would they not sell to you?” I asked.

“I didn’t even try. I know for a fact that the prices are extortionate here. Even docking is an arlar a day. It’s normally a few irons on most other planets. Same for repair materials. There’s plenty of planets on the way to Weka Four where we can get reasonable prices for everything.”

“Sounds good to us,” Ember said. “And, it means we can leave straight away. Neither of us like this planet, so we’ll be glad to go. How long until you’re ready?”

“I’m ready now.”

“Don’t you need to go and get your things?”

“Nah, I’m homeless. I just slept next to the job boards.”

“Oh, right,” Ember said, sadly.

“I hope that doesn’t put you off.”

“We’re all strays here. As long as you can fly and maintain the ship, we’ll be happy,” Ember added.

“I promise you. I can do those things.”

“Well, let’s get the fuck off this rock. Whoop Whoop!” I shouted, and fist pumped the air.

My attempt at motivating everyone was met with a less than spectacular response. Some might call it embarrassing, and they’d be right. But I just pretended I hadn’t noticed the patronizing looks.

We had food, fuel, a pilot, and a job to do. Things were looking up. Calegg took us out of the dock. It was a little bumpy to be honest. I swallowed down my concerns.

“Sorry about that, guys. First time flying in two years. It’ll be great in a few hours when it all comes back to me,” he grinned.

C12

A Quest!

Now we had a pilot, life would be a little less stressful for me and Ember on the ship. Nevertheless, every rattle still set my nerves on edge. I won’t lie, I still had my reservations about Calegg’s actual ability. Still, he seemed genuine and willing, not to mention create fire and resist lasers. Really, he was quite the boon, and it was always good to have another