Data file R-14: Crystal launcher

  [Used by a small number of mercenaries, and employed by the Embershard military for added ammunition in railguns, this is a reaction of power crystal energy that allows for a synthetic crystal to be made out of the siphoned energy of a power core battery. This reaction, importantly, forms a “dead” crystal that does not generate any energy on its own. Infusing it with energy is possible, but unlikely, given the advantages of these projectiles when uncharged.

  Crystal launcher weapons condense the energy inside the barrel, often a mounted cannon for added stability, where it forms into a spike that has the density of average window glass and decays after three hours. These crystals leave no trace after impact due to their short life, are as quiet as an arrow if aimed well, and are weighted enough to use lobbed shots or wind correction.

  Blue Jay uses these launchers on both of his arms, mounted to the tops of his gauntlets. The gauntlets have a connector that links through a small tube to an energy pack he wears over his coat, enabling him to rapidly launch crystals by using the larger battery inside the pack, as opposed to batteries in the gauntlets.

  Note from Alyssa: “Just, I don’t think these are smart. They have a tendency to blow up when condensed too much, and the multiplicative energy required to fire them quickly could lead to an overload if the user is emotionally unstable when directing the flow.”

  Note from Gears: “I second that. There are some virtues in such a system, but it's hardly reliable.”

  Note from Helios: “Maybe use it for a support weapon?”

  Note from Rasil: “How would that help?”

  Note from Helios: “Impact grenades, boss! They’d shatter like glass and then BOOM. Dead racazoids.”

  Note from Gears: “A viable use, potentially. I can look into it?”

  Note from Rasil: “Go ahead. I like the idea.”]

  ***

  Present day...

  Blue Jay requested a break from the story, so Rasil was currently waiting in a back alley. “Might as well," he shrugged as he held up his shard. It took only a moment before the signal was found and Flameye opened a portal.

  “What do you want this time?” Flameye asked. He seemed quite calm, and he looked almost completely repaired. “My time is limited, ironically.” A sharp laugh came from the Chimera Wraith’s throat at that. Rasil shook his head in disbelief at the fact that his nemesis had just casually made a joke to him.

  “Do you know Blue Jay?” Rasil shot, not rudely, but straight to the point.

  Flameye coughed in disgust and muttered, “Don’t say that name to me again.”

  “That’s a yes. Mind telling me about your seismic cannon?”

  “It’s rubble now, knight. I don’t see how it matters.”

  “That’s helpful. One more question...” Rasil sighed. “Why do you actually answer my questions?”

  “A modicum of respect," Flameye huffed, before closing the portal. Rasil understood that sentiment, and though it wasn’t normally worth thinking about, he found himself strangely proud that Flameye saw something noteworthy in him. He knew well that one's enemies sometimes define their true strength.

  Blue Jay knocked on the window, and Rasil waved briefly before walking back inside. Blue Jay had ordered a full bottle of beer, but hadn’t opened it yet. “Precaution. I don’t like telling this story," he explained. Rasil nodded, and gestured for Blue Jay to continue. “Right, where was I?”

  ***

  Two years ago...

  “Hey there. You must be Blue Jay,” the stranger at the door said. His eyes were a faded bronze and stood out beneath his chin-length, reddish-brown hair. That, and the thick, transparent visor over the upper half of his face. He wore a hooded black cloak and red-plated armor that looked like it was made of meteor stone. In the dark of the rain falling outside, Blue Jay could see the faint hint of a luminous red energy color. That would make him the second in Embershard to have that color, after the prince.

  “Blue Jay! Stop analyzing and let the man out of the rain!” Shadow Veil yelled, still in the back but recognizing the silence. Blue Jay blinked rapidly and stepped aside to let the man in.

  “Thanks. The name’s Phantom, or the mercenary name, that is. I’ve been looking for you.”

  “Really?” Blue Jay asked, remembering his manners and taking Phantom’s cloak to dry it off. “Why look for me? I’m just a local thief, a bodyguard if someone pays a little higher.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Don’t sell yourself short. Triblade’s name, you’re too young for humility... Why don’t we have a more professional talk while I offer you a job?” Phantom smiled. He was clearly requesting, not ordering, and he didn’t seem impolite. Blue Jay figured hearing this man out for a job offer couldn’t possibly hurt.

  “I’d be glad to. Let me grab you a seat.”

  ***

  Phantom let out a relaxed sigh as he sat in the folding chair. Blue Jay pulled out a second one from the closet and set it up. Clearing his throat to invite the conversation, Blue Jay sat down facing Phantom.

  Phantom started, “I need several local mercenaries for a job. It’s third-party, funded by Slick Jones. Rumor has it, he went to the imperials and was turned down, so he’s paying me and any local mercenary I can hire to pull this off for him. Interested?”

  “Care to give more details?” Blue Jay asked. He was getting excited about this. A job funded by Slick Jones? There was no safer place for a mercenary to be than in his ranks, and the payment was surely—

  “Two hundred grand to every participant, if I read what you’re thinking about.” Phantom continued with a wink. He ignored Blue Jay’s jaw dropping at the number and kept going, “The target is a racazoid artillery station, a ‘seismic cannon.’ The blasted piece of scrap can launch a massive tungsten rail with enough force to level a city, and it’s pointed at Embershard.” Any trace of a smile left Blue Jay’s face, but Phantom held up a hand and finished, “That’s the reason for the pay. This is a very high-risk mission, but it’s all that stands to stop the racazoids from destroying the capital city and every innocent person in it.”

  Blue Jay was suddenly surprised that Phantom had such a calm demeanor given the stakes. He had to take this job, his family—

  No.

  His family wasn’t worth it, but the others...

  People he happened to know and care about were in this city. He clenched his jaw. “I’m in.”

  “Well, that was fast. Good on you, Blue Jay.” Phantom chuckled and offered his hand. Blue Jay took it with a determined smile. Saving this city was something most mercenaries didn’t sign up for, but the people in it? They were worth every drop of blood in defense of those precious walls.

  Shadow Veil witnessed the deal, and stepped forward to give Blue Jay his fixed coat back. Blue Jay took it and thanked her, slipping it on and reaching for his energy pack. “When’s this mission?”

  “Tomorrow. We’ve got an opening at noon to get into the complex. After that, half of the problem will be the stall.”

  “The stall?”

  “We’ve got a hacker who can force a system reboot on the security, but the window is two hours after entry. I’ll give you everything else you need when we’re in there.”

  “Roger that.”

  “See you tomorrow, Blue Jay," Phantom said with a cheerful wave. He walked to the door, putting on his cloak and pulling the hood up.

  “You too, Phantom," Blue Jay responded. He was feeling more eager for a job than he had in years.

  ***

  The next day, Blue Jay, as was the custom, left the city limits and waited for coordinates to the infiltration site. The area outside the main wall of Embershard was largely barren, the forest adjacent having been razed to the ground by racazoids long ago. Blue Jay sat on a rock and looked over his gauntlets, tweaking his energy levels.

  His anger had always made his crystal launchers a bit unstable, so he had to continually practice sending energy through the chamber without letting it erupt or explode. Why had he been the one cursed like this? Why was he the one whose weapon hindered him?

  Hearing his comlink signal him, he opened a channel and heard Phantom’s voice on the other end. “Hey, Blue Jay. Glad you’re still on board. Head to these coordinates to meet with the rest of the team.”

  “Thanks.” Blue Jay accepted the data transfer to his visor. He activated his antigravity boots and aimed for the right point using electrosense and memory. The boots fired with a humming zap and sent him flying through the air. He let out an involuntary laugh, and smiled beneath his mask.

  Blue Jay slid along a tree as he landed, and tucked into a roll before boosting again and again. His momentum carried with each burst until he was moving like a blur through a denser part of the forest. He was almost at the right point. His boots allowed him to rocket above the treetops and look around more closely. Doing so, he finally saw it.

  Honestly, how did the military miss it? The seismic cannon barrel rose over the canopy at an angle, and spotlights pointed around, searching for any invaders. The barrel itself was a long orange cylinder that looked like it had magnetic accelerators mounted into it. A larger imitation of antimatter rifle booster barrels probably formed the key to—oh, right, the ground.

  Blue Jay stopped his analysis and landed gracefully with his boots, sliding to a stop at the decided point. He looked around, seeing a small clearing around him and supplies lying around. Several crates of munitions, spare power core batteries, and even a handheld mortar were sitting stacked near a bush.

  “It’s okay, guys. He’s in,” Phantom said as he emerged from said bush. His cloak had been swapped for a green one that camouflaged almost perfectly with the plants. “Sorry, Blue Jay, the others wanted to see you before you saw them.”

  As he spoke, three more people stepped out of the trees and walked into the clearing. The first, a black-haired man in a camouflage robe, introduced himself: “Pleasure. Call me Mantis.” He extended a white-gloved hand from under the robe, and Blue Jay shook it.

  He started to give Mantis his own name, but Phantom laughed. “They know who you are, kill-stealer.”

  Blue Jay's face, or the small portion visible, flushed with embarrassment, and he gave Phantom a scowl for reminding him of his mercenary name’s origin. The next team member, a blonde woman wearing a gold flight suit and leather-padded armor, interrupted his thoughts, saying, “Call me ED2, or Ella. Your choice.” Blue Jay shook her hand unprompted. He knew a hacker when he saw one, and hackers were the backbone of anti-racazoid jobs.

  The final team member stepped forward, a boy who looked no older than fifteen, wearing casual clothes alongside a dark green hoodie and armored antigravity boots. “Name’s Cricket," he said. Blue Jay was intrigued.

  “Cricket, mind telling me where that comes from?” Blue Jay asked. Cricket responded by holding up a cricket bat that had antigravity launchers built into it, layered in rows along the entire striking area.

  “Oh. That makes sense.” Blue Jay nodded. “Respect to you for the guts to go full melee like that.” Phantom laughed at that and walked over, giving Cricket a friendly pat on the shoulder.

  “He’s young, before you mention it, but he’s got nowhere better to be, and I’ve been told he could use the money. Protect him carefully, because he’ll be a useful asset,” Phantom informed. Blue Jay nodded. He was young on his first job, too. No harm in another walking down his path.

  No harm in it, right?

  No harm to whom?