Chapter 15: First Contract

“This isn’t an errand. If we are going in like this, it's suicide!” Neon shouted. He was looking aghast at the tablet in his hands.

“Let me see that.” Luke snatched the tablet. “This is just a simple mercenary contract… Oh. I get it now. This is suicide. Neon wasn’t exaggerating. For once.”

“See? You can trust me!”

Yan sighed and said, “Neon, that was an insult. You know that, right?”

“Of course. It just doesn’t faze me!” Neon waved her concerns away.

Luke offered the tablet to Yan. There were only the three of them at the table. Isabella had gone off to discuss the credit chip with her parents.

The description on the tablet was simple:

image [https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/135145448/6003eb85b5af488889680cadeca21a91/e30%3D/1.png?token-hash=e2LIe06U4KmAlpxoGDtjkrPDjAVvsk33BUZC-GK3SgU%3D&token-time=1754956800]

Further below, presumably added by Sir Faust’s underlings, was a single line of text:

“Berth S36, 0000hrs. Max crew 4.”

Unlike what Yan had thought, there was nothing unsavoury about this contract. Many terms were unfamiliar but the only thing that struck her as strange was the contractor, “The Devil’s Mercs”. Even then, that was probably a mercenary shell-group of some kind that Faust was using to procure the contract for her.

Seeing her look of confusion, Luke added, “It isn’t what’s written that’s the problem. It’s the things that aren’t. Mercs are usually given more information or the time to scope out the site. We have two hours.”

It made sense to Yan now. They had no idea what they were up against and they did not have the overwhelming force necessary to make up for that either.

Suddenly, there was a chime in her mind. “Initiating Contract Analysis Protocol. One Protocol use remaining.”

For a moment, her eye whirled. Then, it beeped.

“Data analysed. Hi ImYan, I see that you have already accepted this contract without first consulting Perigot-Sim Interactive’s patented Contract Analysis Protocol. That is not an issue! The following details may still prove informative.”

A screen appeared:

image [https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/135145448/e1a8bab1c1d34bde903e921ef334e20a/e30%3D/1.png?token-hash=TCcZB5HZ-YxHjCchyO4U3O6UevvJl98WuFB8CC0pR8Y%3D&token-time=1754956800]

The screen flickered away and Sierra chirped, “And that’s all from me! All the best for your upcoming mission!”

Yan blinked a few times as the voice in her head ceased. She looked around the table to see both men staring at her intently.

“What? Something wrong?” She asked.

“Oh, nothing. Just thought that you might want to share what Sierra told you,” Neon shrugged.

“Was it that obvious?”

“Having a conversation in your head with somebody else is usually pretty obvious. Even the Doctor couldn’t hide it all the time,” Luke replied.

Neon interjected with a chuckle, “Actually, I don’t think Dr. Regina bothered to hide it. Anyway, spill the beans!”

“Well, Sierra did give me some information. We’re looking at up to twenty-five hostiles, including up to five mining droids. They might get reinforcements from a small Digger-class vessel too. Up to five crew aboard that vessel,” Yan said.

“I see. Three - Four, including Isabella - against thirty-odd hostiles. Those aren’t good numbers. And that vessel…” Luke rubbed his chin as he spoke.

Neon nodded. “So, still suicide but at least we are going in with that knowledge.”

Yan looked at Neon’s glum face. He might just be right.

Then, realisation struck. A job like this was not a full-scale pitched battle. Their enemies were likely to be separated and spread across multiple rooms.

Divide and conquer. That was the way to victory.

“Intelligence +1”

Yan stood up. “Alright, you lot, listen up. We have to hit them hard, and we have to hit them fast. The enemy is likely separated, so we zip in and clear them, room by room. I expect lots of tight corners, so Neon, grenades are our best friend. Go for something less destructive. We need AC-02 to stay intact.”

The scientist perked up at the mention of grenades.

“Rizz +1”

She noticed that Luke was smiling warmly at her.

“I’ll go in with a trench sweeper,” He stated. “A shotgun will work wonders.”

A fourth voice joined in excitedly, “And - And I’ll make sure to pack up on the Quick-Heals!”

Everybody turned to look.

Isabella had returned. She had a bulky black shell of metal over her back. Yan could see that it was secured to her through a number of buckles that ran around her body. Her usual coat was nowhere to be seen.

“Isabella... Can you actually fight?” Yan asked. She was worried about bringing a non-combatant into a combat zone.

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“I - I can heal you guys… I’m a great shot with a healing-dart gun! ” Now that all eyes were on her, Isabella’s excitement was rapidly deflating.

“Maybe you should stay here…” Yan continued. Luke and Neon were nodding. Nobody wanted her blood on their hands.

“No, no, I’ll be useful, I promise! You said AC-02, right? I’ve worked there before! For like three months! That place is old and lots of stuff don’t work properly. So, if you need something fixed, I can help!”

Yan was not too sure how much they would need Isabella’s skills. But this world was still extremely new to her. Having somebody familiar with technology was unlikely to hurt. She just had to keep the engineer-slash-doctor out of combat.

“Alright. You’re onboard but stay behind us. And don’t make me regret this.”

“Yes! I - I won’t let you down!”

Yan looked around the table. “Well, I guess it’s time we went shopping.”

***

“What’s a credit worth anyway?” Yan asked, thinking about the three chips in her pocket.

Even though she had been in this world for a few days now, Yan had never needed to use the local currency. Nonetheless, the 10,000 cr split the party received certainly seemed substantial.

As the reluctant but de facto leader, she had handed over 2,000 cr to Isabella to rent the atmosuits Sierra had advised. The remainder had been split evenly among the party so that they could gear up.

Naturally, the crew had headed for Starfarer Street. Only Luke was with her now, the rest having entered nearby shops.

He was looking at her, confused by her question. Then, he realised his mistake. “Sorry, it’s still weird to see the Doctor ask me basic questions about the world. A credit is worth… well, it depends. Around here, you can buy half a loaf of bread. Or maybe two bottles of water.”

“I see… and how much does a person normally earn?”

“Again, that depends. I would say, out here in the Cristom Cluster, a labourer might earn a thousand credits a month. More, if there’s hazards involved. If you’re white-collar, you might be looking at upwards of two thousand.”

“So… thirty thousand…”

“It’s a huge sum. There’s a reason mercenary outfits don’t have trouble looking for new blood.”

Yan nodded quietly. She could not remember what she expected when she first awoke in this world, but becoming a temporary mercenary was probably not on that list.

Still, if it helped her to get the money needed to boost Sierra’s memory decoding capabilities, this was something she could consider for the longer term.

“And here we are, Perigot-Sim Interactive’s flagship store in the Cristom Cluster,” Luke declared.

Yan looked up from her thoughts to see a gleaming white exterior and wide glass windows. Above the glass double doors, hung the logo of Perigot-Sim Interactive: A single green serpent coiling in on itself.

“Well, see you at the docks at 2330 hours,” Yan said.

“Time to get myself an actual gun.” Luke walked away, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

As Yan approached the doors, they swung open soundlessly. The interior reminded her a little of the research chamber she had woken up in, minus all the soot. Sterile white tiles lined the floor and the ceiling. White racks of all sorts of electronics filled the space. At the far end was an unmanned counter.

The moment she stepped in, she heard a familiar chime from above her.

“Hi, hello!”

Yan jumped. A woman popped out from behind a shelf. She was young, around the same age as Isabella. Her hair was a brilliant neon green, tied into two messy buns, one on each side of her head.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! Did I startle you?” She sounded genuinely apologetic.

“It’s okay… do you work here?” Yan had asked her question even before her eyes drifted down to the woman’s uniform. It was a green jumpsuit adorned with a single coiling serpent below the left shoulder.

The woman took it in stride. “Yes! I’m Melody. Is there something I can help you with today?”

“Yes. I have a Bionic Eye model X-09. Is there any way I can improve its processing power?”

“Sure, and you’re currently on which Tier? Oh, sorry! I’m supposed to know that.” Melody blushed, much to Yan’s confusion. Then, her right eye lit up with a blue glow. “Ahem. Yes, your X-09 is currently at Tier 1. I have a few Tier 2 upgrades in stock and can help you install them right away!”

“And how much would that cost?”

“20,000 credits. Installation will be free of charge!”

Yan baulked at the price. “That’s exorbitant!”

“I know... these things cost a bomb. But it’s worth it! I just got my Tier 2 upgrade recently and it's been absolutely amazing! I watch movies on it all the time! Erh, not now, of course.” The saleswoman laughed awkwardly, twirling a strand of loose hair with a finger.

A movie was not a concept Yan was familiar with but that word conjured up thoughts of numerous moving pictures strung up into a theatre show of sorts. Whatever it was, a Tier 2 upgrade was out of reach of her measly two thousand or so credits right now.

“Well, maybe next time. For now, how about a few Protocol uses?” Those had been extremely useful so far.

“Of course! You currently have one Protocol use remaining. How many would you like to purchase?”

“How much does a Protocol use cost?”

“300 credits. Each.”

“300 credits? For one use?”

“It’s really expensive, I know. I haven’t used any myself… can’t afford to blow a big chunk of my salary in two seconds! Oh, actually, if you sign up for our loyalty programme, I can cut you a permanent 20% discount on Protocol uses!”

That was still a painful 240 credits per use.

The woman continued, “And if you buy a set of four, I can throw in one for free!”

“Done. Sign me up for the programme. I’ll take a set of uses.” The words had left Yan’s mouth before the thought even finished processing.

“Wonderful! Your eye has already uploaded all the relevant information and the PS Elite card will be digitally delivered to you in a few days! You’ll gain access to all the benefits immediately. For starters, I can offer you a Tier 1 Module, on the house!”

“A Tier 1 Module?”

“Yes! If you've been interacting with your AI assistant, Sierra, she might have hinted at a Dictionary Module.”

“Hinted” was not a word Yan would use to describe Sierra’s hard selling but she bit back her sarcasm. “Yes, she has mentioned it a few times.”

“Just a few times? Mine hardly goes a day without mentioning some new Module!” Melody laughed.

Yan was starting to feel herself relax. This woman’s enthusiasm was infectious.

“Anyway, you may remember from the manual that upgrading Sierra’s Tier will allow you to install more Modules. Better ones too! The Dictionary Module is one of the Utility Modules available at Tier 1. There are also two other Utility Modules available at Tier 1: the Watch Module and the Wallet Module. Each of these normally costs 999 credits but right now, you can have any one of these for free!”

The Dictionary and Watch Modules sounded quite self-explanatory. The only Module that Yan could not quite visualise was the Wallet Module.

“And how would the Wallet Module work?”

“Oh, I have that one actually! It gives you a little credit count in your vision. You can scan any unlocked credit chip with it and the value is automatically transferred into your X-09! Oh, and you can use it to make payments too!”

“Well, I’ll take -”

“Sorry! One moment,” Melody declared abruptly. For a moment, she stood there, staring into the air. Then, she shook her head, blinked and smiled. But she looked confused.

“I just received a message from headquarters and they told me that you’re a very special customer. So special, in fact, that I can offer you all three Tier 1 Utility Modules at no charge! I’m a bit jealous but I love that for you!”

Yan could not help but feel a little suspicious. Did Dr. Regina have some kind of standing in Perigot-Sim Interactive? It seemed more than likely. But first, she should make sure that there was no catch.

“Is there anything that I have to do?” She asked.

“Since these are Tier 1 modules, a quick code upload would do the trick! All you have to do is accept our terms and conditions. I’ll call them up on your eye right now!” Melody’s bionic eye glowed blue again and Yan could see the iris spin.

A screen popped up in Yan’s vision.

It was a document so long that the scroll bar was just a tiny black bar against a length of white. One look at its contents and Yan recoiled. It was written in legalese so opaque that she got a headache just looking at it.

Yan shrugged mentally. She was already saddled with Perigot-Sim’s bionic eye. What else could these terms and conditions possibly do to her?

She slid the scroll bar all the way to the end and clicked “I Accept”.