Tunnel Rat

Chapter 203: Pre-Launch Maneuvering

One of the great debates between players of SC6 was how to customize your spacecraft. There were options for the two Light Attack Crafts, the two Weapons Batteries, the Navigation System, and the Command Bridge. Every ship started with basic engines, shields, sensors, and weapons. Each of the six players was given points that they could use to upgrade their part of the ship. Unused points went to the Command Bridge. Complicating the discussion was the different types of missions with their different variables: number of opponents, victory conditions, gravity strength, radiation from solar bodies, small black holes, asteroid fields, and pirate fleets. No ship could do everything for every mission, and choices had to be made.

Light Attack Craft (LAC) Basic Engines, Basic low range sensors, Basic Communications, 2x Standard Dogfighting Lasers (SRWP)

6 Upgrade Points:

Upgrade Engines to Level 2

Upgrade Engines to Level 3

Upgrade Shields to Level 2

Upgrade Shields to Leve 3

Upgrade 1 Laser system from Short-Range Weak-Power (SRWP) Range from Short to Medium

Upgrade 1 Laser Power from (SRWP) to Medium-Range Low-Power (MRLP)

Upgrade 1 Laser Power from (MRLP) to Medium-Range High-Power (MRHP)

Replace 1 laser system with a Missile Pod (4 shots, Heavy Long-Range Missiles.)

Add Missile Control System for increased accuracy

Upgrade sensors and Commlink to Level 2

Delete LAC launcher and replace it with 3rd weapons system and advanced gunnery system.

Weapons Batteries Standard Missile Strength, Limited Shots (100), Standard targeting computer, Defensive Lasers, Standard Communications

6 Upgrade Points

Increased Missile Storage (+100)

Increase Missile Loadout from Heavy to Ship Killer

Install Missile Targeting Computer to assist Gunner

Upgrade Sensors

Upgrade Communications

Upgrade Defensive Lasers (DL) to Medium Range Heavy Lasers (MRHL)

Upgrade MRHL to Long Range Grazer system (LRG)

Convert entire Weapons Battery to 1 additional LAC with 2xMissile Pods, Missile Targeting System, and 6 upgrade points.

Navigation Level 2 Sensors, Programmable Flight Computer, Level 2 Communications

12 Upgrade Points

Upgrade Sensors and Communications from Level 2 to Level 3

Upgrade Sensors and Communications from Level 3 to Level 4 (Launches two sensor platforms into the system at the start of the game.)

Upgrade Sensors and Communications from Level 4 to Leve 5 (Launches six sensor platforms into the system prior to the game.)

Upgrade Sensors and Communications from Level 5 to Leve 6 (Makes use of all allied sensor networks in the system.)

Upgrade Flight Computer to semi-automatic

Upgrade Flight Computer to fully automatic

Upgrade Flight Computer to A. I status.

Allow Flight Computer to act as Port Gunner

Allow Flight Computer to act as Starboard Gunner

Increase Artificial Internal Gravity System from Basic to Advanced Allow for more maneuverability.

Increase Artificial Internal Gravity System from Advanced to Experimental

Commander Basic Engines Basic Shields Standard Fission Power Basic Communications

Upgrade Engines to Level 2

Upgrade Engines from Level 2 to Level 3

Upgrade Engines from Level 3 to Level 4

Add Warp Drive System to Level 4 Engines

Upgrade Fission Power Plant to Advanced Fission System (AFS), Increasing Power from 4 points to 6 points. (2 upgrade points)

Upgrade AFS to Standard Fusion Power Plant (SFPP), Increasing Power from 6 points to 8 points. (2 upgrade points)

Upgrade SFPP to an Experimental and Highly Untested Quad-Fusion System. (BOOM!) Increasing power from 8 to 12 (Free!)

Add +1 Level of Extra Shielding for 1 upgrade point. Multiple Levels

Add Lithium-Cobalt-Ion system for +2 energy storage. (Single use.)

Rechargeable energy storage system. 1 point of energy for 1 upgrade point.

Power Costs:

Level 2 Engines (1 power point when in use)

Level 3 Engines (2 Power points when in use)

Warp Jump (4 power Points drained from the pool for 1-3 minutes while the power plant recovers)

Weapon Systems (1 point per system)

Extra Shields (Port, Starboard, Bow, Stern) (2 points)

Reinforcing Shields (Limited Defense) (1 energy per area)

The two LAC pilots, two gunners, and the Navigator had control of their sections, and could allocate unused upgrade points to the Commander. In a well-oiled team these choices would be made ahead of time. In pick-up games, it could lead to arguments between the crew. This led to the formation of more and more permanent teams. And as the game grew, teams worked together in squadrons, each ship taking on specialized roles. Small empires of star systems were created, and the galaxy went to war. Unfortunately, a war was also developing between the people who had made the game.

The game's downfall was the need for large and expensive machines to play it on. An argument between the creative director, the marketing director, and the CFO led to the company's break-up because of disagreements over selling the game to a larger corporation. SC6 faded into obscurity, with four different people owning 25% of the stock in the company. With no agreement on how to further finance development, the game slid into obscurity as the first full VR systems went live and players poured into Endless Questing Online.

Nostalgia was a powerful tool. The chance to field teams for SC6 convinced several older gaming groups to pay the large fee to attend the event. Team Nameless Order and Team Good Old Guys were older players here to have fun. The other four teams were corporate sponsored with products to sell. And Team Claw Master had appeared out of nowhere, upsetting John's plans.

"Belinda, please, be reasonable. I have six teams that paid a lot of money to be in the SC6 tournament. It's quite unfair of you to demand I go back on my word to them."

His stepdaughter stared at him and silently counted to ten. Then to twenty. John became uncomfortable at this point. Belinda didn't like to yell and had made a habit of thinking hard about a situation and getting herself under control before speaking to him. If she was counting this long, things would be bad.

"You lied." She stared at him, drumming the fingers of her left hand on the arm of her chair.

"No, honey, I'm trying not to lie. I have to keep my word to the nice people that paid me money—paid us money. And it wasn't a lie, not really. Everyone knew Team M-1000 was going to win that first contest. I made up that part about getting a slot in the SC6 competition. No other team was ready, and no one was going to beat the team from Ubergear. It was a little something to hype the excitement."

Off to the side of the room, along with John's staff, Eric Kresthammer was wincing. John was poor at 'reading the room.' He was normally either dealing with a group of underlings who approved of what he said or someone with more power than him that he automatically agreed with. He had no friends, just employees, and people he owed money to, except for Belinda, who lately was reminding John more and more that she didn't fit into either group. And as she approached the age of 18, his authority as her parent was also waning.

"That's called lying, Daddy. Don't say things in public and then go back on your word."

"Well, it wouldn't have been a lie if you hadn't organized a team to win all those machines and embarrass me!" John's statement made Eric wince again. He went to the bar and added a shot of whiskey to his coffee.

"If you hadn't lied and stolen my machines, I wouldn't have had to win them!"

Downing his coffee, Eric looked at the other employees in the room. "Go find something useful to do. Now." The room emptied as John and Belinda continued to argue.

As the last person left, Eric stepped between the two but addressed John. "She's right, John. You screwed up. First, when you promised her the machines, it was even in the paperwork. 'Non-negotiable.' You should have bought more machines if you wanted a contest."

"Then Belinda's team comes out of nowhere and wins most of them. It's playing great on the datanet. Spunky Girl recruits a bunch of rebel gamers from the Hab to form a team and take first place. Add in a mysterious corporation called Claw Master with an unknown gaming product, and suddenly we are getting ten times the views we'd hoped for. We're trending, John. Trending! And now you want to screw up that story, taint the whole event with cronyism, and betray your daughter? What the hell are you thinking."

John smiled. "We're trending? Awesome. I knew we'd be successful. Isn't that great, Belinda?" Sweat ran down his neck as he looked at her impassive face.

Belinda turned to Eric. "My team of 'spunky rebels' is going to play SC6. We aren't going to win, but we get to play. Non-negotiable, Uncle Eric, Non-negotiable. Please explain that word to my step-father, he doesn't seem to know what it means. Buy off one of the smaller corps with extra advertising or money. I'd suggest MunchyPotato; they came in last. Make it happen, Uncle Eric; I have a crew to train with." She turned her chair and left the room, leaving the two men standing silent.

John started to say something, and Eric stopped him. "She's right. And for reasons you haven't even thought about. Do you remember when we renegotiated the labor contracts, John? Remember how we wondered why some high-powered law firm cared about people in the Hab? Now we find out a new corporation with a radical new product uses people in the Hab to test their products. The same mysterious corporation that contacted Belinda's staff out of the blue to sponsor them. Are you making the connections? These people are big, John. Big enough to risk going head-to-head with Ubergear. We came to the Hab on your recommendation that it was a great place to base Manpower because no one else cared about it. Cheap real estate, cheap labor. But it turns out someone else was already here, John. And so far, they have been damned polite to us. They gave some warning when they rewrote those contracts and even made us look good with Wally. The PR on that was great. Then they help sponsor the event. Again, polite and helpful."

"This latest thing to happen is a lucky break for us, John. Belinda is making it happen. But if you screw her, you screw Claw Master, and I don't know what happens after that—a lawsuit for sure. You can kiss any further money from them goodbye. And I hate to think about further complications of doing business here. Are you getting this, John?"

There was a moment of silence as John's face went through several emotions. "Damn, Eric. You are on the ball today. Thanks for the insight." He smiled and clapped Eric on the shoulder. "I'm just stressed with all the work I've put in. How about I settle with the MunchyPotato people and explain things to them? You make sure the SC6 event goes off without a hitch. We'll catch up for a late dinner and drinks when everyone's gone. We need to start thinking about our next event. If this one is trending, then the skies are the limit." He left the room with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. "Time to get to work, people!"

Eric got himself another cup of coffee and whisky.

Watching from a monitor patched into the security cameras in the room, Victor smiled and waved at the screen. "Do you see that? My little girl stomped them and put them in their place. Did you hear how she said it? 'Non-negotiable.' It sent a chill down my spine." His two oldest bodyguards nodded. They had enjoyed the scene.

"We will keep Mr. Eric; he knows who is in charge and who isn't. We will make sure he is at Belinda's 18th birthday party. He will make a good chief of staff for her once John is gone."