After purchasing the Xbox, which Acziome gleefully clutched to his chest the entire ride home, we headed back to the Hero Factory. When we arrived, Jetterre offered to drop us off at the lobby door, while he parked the pickup in the underground parking lot. We got out and Surge was waiting for us. Acziome, unable to contain his excitement, rushed through the door, still clutching the box, to our dorm, but wasn't looking where he was going. He accidentally broadsided a Hero, with a black and silver chestplate, carrying a stack of data-pads.
"Oh dear! I'm sorry! I didn't see where I was going. I-" Acziome said, but was cut off by the Hero.
"Watch where you're going, outsider!" the Hero growled. He picked up his previously discarded data-pads, which Acziome was trying in vain to help pick up, and left at a brisk pace.
"Well. He had some nerve!" Acziome said.
"Who on Terra was that?!" I asked.
"That," Surge said, "Was Thelonius Fox. An elite of The Elite."
"Pardon me?"
"One of the most elite members of the HRT. The Hero Recon Team."
"The HRT, eh? Is that why he acted so snobbish?"
"No. He's usually a very modest Hero. Except towards externally developed Heroes."
"How does he know that we're externally developed?!" I asked, outraged.
"Darklite, it's not that hard to miss."
I took a good look at Surge. Then at Acziome, then down at me. Different armor style and bone structure. Very recognizable.
"Oh yeah." I said, sheepishly. "How canyou miss it? But why, for the sake of the galaxy, is he prejudiced against externally developed Heroes?"
"Well, there was an externally developed Hero, back around the 1.0 era, before I was even thought of, who was so good at his job he was inducted into the HRT. He did well, as usual, but a couple of months after he was inducted, he was caught copying information about the HRT to a thumb drive, ready to be sold to the highest bidder. As if that wasn't enough, Thelonius Fox himself caught him. He was locked up in villain storage for a while, then released. He swore never to do it again, but Thelonius Fox hated externally developed Heroes ever since. He claimed that their loyalties could be divided between the Hero Factory and their designers. He no longer trusted any and all externally developed Heroes, no matter how trustworthy they were deemed to be."
"Wow. This guy has some problems."
"He heard about the apparent breach of security the night before you were built, so he's been on your case since day one. I've spoken to Rocka about it, and he said he'd keep an eye on him for me, make sure he doesn't do anything drastic."
"It's good to know you care, Surge." I said. "But I hate the fact of someone hating me, even though I didn't personally hurt him. Maybe I should go talk to him. Tell him that my loyalty is to the Hero Factory and to the Hero Factory alone. I barely even know my designer anyway. Just his name and some vague details about him."
"I wouldn't recommend it, Darklite. He's pretty touchy when it comes to this subject. I think it's best if you leave him alone."
"You think?" I asked. Then my Hero-Pad lit up.
"Yes, Zib?" I asked.
"Please report to the command center as soon as possible. There's something serious going on."
"Acziome, go take the Xbox up to our dormitory, and come down immediately after. Yes, Zib. We'll be there momentarily." I hung up, and Surge, Jetterre and I took off to the command center.
"Go ahead, Zib." I said.
"Not everyone is here yet. I'm still waiting for Julius Nex, Jetterre and Acziome. Surge, you can come along too, if you want."
"Thanks, Zib. I'd love to."
Just then, Acziome, Jetterre and an orange and white Hero, who I assume was Nex, ran towards Zib's computer array.
"What's this about trouble on Planet U?" Nex asked, in a rather pleasant sounding Australian accent. I liked him all ready.
"We don't know the details, as the transmission was cut off. There was something to do with rock monsters and seismic activity."
"Rock monsters?!" Acziome yelped. I never thought he'd look so scared.
"Yes, rock monsters!" Zib replied, sounding very irritated, "Kindly don't interrupt me while I'm doing a mission brief."
"Y-yes, Zib." Acziome said, quietly. He looked absolutely terrified.
"Now, as I was saying. We had received a distress transmission from a mining base on Planet U. The audio was a little bit garbled, but we picked up snippets of information leading us to believe that they were being attacked by Rock Monsters, and that cave-ins and earthquakes were occurring. There was also something about an oxygen limit. I assume that's the amount of oxygen they can survive on. I think from that, we can also safely assume that the air purifiers and oxygen pumps have been damaged in the attacks, or cave-ins. We need you to go assist the Rock Raiders in repairing any damage, and fending off any rock monsters. That's where you come in, Nex. Your expertise in technology and repair work is vital in this mission."
"You can count on me, Zib!" Nex said.
"The rest of you can help the Rock Raiders in defending their base, or finding out the cause for those cave-ins and earthquakes."
"We'll do our best, sir." I said.
"I'll help look for the cause of the earthquakes and stuff." Acziome volunteered. A little too quickly, if you ask me.
"Very well. You know what to do. Head to the Armory, and get some weapons. I can't help you in the case of refitting, you three." He said to Acziome, Jetterre and I.
"Yes Zib. We'll do our best." I said.
"I'm sure you will. You haven't failed us yet."
We all went to the Armory, picking out essential items. Surge suggested taking grenades, to blast holes through rock. I suggested taking some Geiger counters, just in case there were radioactive materials on Planet U. Surge and Nex didn't need to, as their Geiger counters were built into their helmets. I also suggested jetpacks. Chasms and deep holes were abundant on Planet U. After getting some expendable, yet relatively powerful, weapons, we went to the Hangar, and took our designated Hero-Craft.
"Hey Nex. You're a whiz at technology. How would one go about modifying a Hero-Craft?"
"Oh, easily." He replied, "Just register for a personal Hero-Craft, and get some good placeholder parts off the Internet cheap. Why?"
"'Cause, the guy at the salvage yard today asked us if we wanted parts to modify our Hero-Craft, and I wanted to try it. I'm not too bad with technology myself, and Jetterre is probably on par with you. He self-modifies himself."
"Well, it looks like Jetterre has gotten a new fan!" Nex said, admiringly, "What's his Facebook name? I want to add him."
"Uh, I don't think he has one. The Hero Outreach program wasn't around when he was made."
"Oh. What's yours then?"
"Darklite_Slizer. I'm part of the Hero Outreach program, too."
"'Kay then. I'll add you."
Surge piloted the Hero-Craft out into space, to our designated Hyperdrive Ring. He then set coordinates to the RRU jumpgate junction, where they can access planets with lots of natural resources, like Planet U for instance, quickly, without having to take weeks, months and potentially years to reach.
(H)(H)(H)
Jumpgates. Massive rings that bend space-time for fast long-distance travel between two points. You barely notice anything unusual while travelling, and it takes like two and a half minutes to cross a quarter of a galaxy. Marvelous pieces of technology, developed by none other than Aperture Science, the developers for our VR Training Spheres. The only thing unusual that you might notice is the weird view outside the ship. I can't even describe it, it's so weird. Anyway, we arrived at the RRU worksite junction, where they can access distant planets abundant with minerals. Surge talked with the jumpgate operator.
"Hello. We received a call a few minutes ago, requesting for help on Planet U. We need you to activate the Planet U jumpgate immediately."
"Well, I as immediately as I can. These jumpgates are older models, and take a while to warm up. We haven't gotten enough funds for new ones, but a recent mining boom on Magmemo could help us raise more money for some… Provided we get the permits."
Surge looked back and shrugged. I returned the gesture.
After about five minutes, the jumpgate's portal was beginning to form inside of the ring. Another thirty seconds later, it was ready for use.
"You might want to keep that open, in case we need backup." Surge said.
"Wehavea budget you know! We can't just keep the power running when we aren't using it."
"Why don't you guys just use the energy crystals you mine to power your jumpgates?" I interjected.
"Because, the crystals we get we need to sell. And right now, crystals are becoming more and more scarce on Planet U. In another month the mysterious energy well in the core will recharge itself, and the crystals near the core will be pushed up by the energy wave. Those nearer the core get more energy than the ones furthest from the core, and the ones higher up are the most common. Thus, we mine out more crystals, and get more money. It's as simple as that."
"Uh huh…" I said indifferently.
"I'll keep a little bit of power flowing into that jumpgate. It will make it warm up faster, if it'll help at all." He said.
"It should help. Thank you."
Surge piloted the ship through the jumpgate. I'll attempt to describe the view outside the window. A bright light flashed, then we go through this rectangular tunnel, which looks like it has a low ceiling (it's actually a trick of the eyes). It has a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns on the 'ceiling' and 'floor'. Basically it's an artificial wormhole. Personally, the view outside makes me sick, so I try not to look, but the fact that it's so bright and vibrant almost draws me to look. But I don't, on account of the gross feeling I get.
(H)(H)(H)
After ten minutes of a weird media player visualization going on outside, we finally arrived in Sector 3.14 in the Andromeda Galaxy. The RRUS: Gallant was in a stationary orbit around Planet U.
"Aha! There you guys are, at last! I'll activate the starboard hangar bay's tractor beam, to help you dock." A control officer said, I thought, then the comm went dead. Surge shrugged. I think he was thinking the exact same thing I was thinking: Why can't we just go down to the surface ourselves?
A large bay door opened, and the craft suddenly jerked. We were getting pulled into the hangar by the tractor beam. After about a minute, the tractor beam deactivated, and we landed. I heard the hissing sound of a room pressurizing outside of the Hero-Craft. After it stopped, we stepped out into the large hangar bay. It had a myriad of vehicles and other mining equipment. A door on a walkway on top of a flight of stairs opened, and a man came out to greet us.
"Hello." I recognized the man's voice as the same person who let us in, "I'm Sparks Kenneth, engineer." He stuck out his hand in greeting. The man had an orange jumpsuit on, with a green tool vest, and a helmet with two lights on top with welding goggles. He spoke in a friendly, Western-y Cowboy accent, but with an intelligent air. I liked him pretty quickly too.
"Good… Whatever time it is in Makuhero City, Sparks." I said, shaking his hand. The others did likewise.
"Axle has talked non-stop about you. You remember Axle? The guy you rescued back on Trantor?"
"Oh yes, him. He works for the Rock Raiders?"
"He was off duty at that point. We still don't know how Core Hunter found him."
"I see."
"Um, Sparks?" Nex said, "Why couldn't have we just gone down to the planet's surface?"
"I know what you're thinking. 'We could've found an access point from there.' Well, you're wrong. Caves leading into the caverns are few and far between." He started leading us across to a large room near the end of the hangar.
"It looks like this place could fit two Hero-Crafts in here." I remarked.
"Big, ain't it? This is the Rock Raider Union's pride and joy: the SSTS, or Sub-Surface Transporter System."
"What's it do?" Nex and Jetterre asked in unison, both equally intrigued.
"Basically, in layman's terms, it's a teleporter." Sparks said nonchalantly.
All our jaws dropped at once.
"A teleporter?!" Nex asked, astonished, voicing our thoughts.
"Yes. A teleporter. I know what you're thinking again. 'They're unethical!' How much power do these things use?' 'Can a ship this size spare enough energy for a teleporter?' 'Is the network reliable?' 'That is so totally cool!' Am I right, or am I right?"
All of us nodded.
Sparks laughed. "These teleporters have been extensively tested, and any and all bugs have been squashed. No particle mix ups here! The teleporter scans each individual entity inside it, and registers it as a separate entity. Also, our network is so reliable and strong, that you can run a Minecraft server on it without any lag! At all! And this specific type of teleporter uses so little power… Well, compared to the rest of the ship it does. Just five percent of the stored energy is used in just one working day. And yes, I agree, it is 'totally cool!'"
"Well. I'm officially impressed." Nex commented.
"Well, don't be shy. Step right on in! I have the teleport station at a base a few kilometers east of the base that was hit by the earthquakes."
"Will it hurt?" Acziome asked.
"That's another great thing. The SSTS puts you in a sort of stasis while you transport."
"But what if…?" Acziome started.
"Someone had a cup of coffee, or anything else high caffeine? Well, once I had ten cups of coffee. I went to teleport down to a base, and when I arrived, I still felt as aware and active as I did back on the ship. It's not necessarily sleeping. And no-one has ever been able to resist going into stasis. It happens too fast."
Acziome just stared in bewilderment.
"Well, are we gonna get this show on the road?" Jetterre asked. I nudged him with my elbow, annoyed.
"Alright, alright, hold your horses." Sparks said, smiling, punching in a few commands. He then stepped into the SSTS room with us.
"I was going to relieve someone down there anyway." He explained.
I noticed that the inside of the SSTS was almost like an elevator. With a command input console on the inside, as well as the outside.
After Sparks pressed the start button, I heard a buzzing/whirring noise above me. I looked up to see an array of satellite-looking dishes up top. Most likely the scanners and network relays. And the particle converter. The big dish in the center had to be it. I made a mental note to ask Sparks when I got the chance.
A blue light in the big dish in the center started pulsing, and a ring started travelling up and down around all of our forms. I noticed that Sparks, Nex, Jetterre, Surge, Acziome and me were starting to look transparent and static-y.
"See ya on the other side!" Sparks said, and winked. And that was the last thing I remembered.
TBC