Derelict 3, Chapter 14.

So, I intended to make the Administrator character teased in the last chapter a mind flayer, but it turns out that the mind flayers are the intellectual property of Wizards of the Coast. No wonder I haven't read many LitRPG's featuring them. I'll have to tweak the description of this creature a bit in the final version.

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Chapter 14.

“And who might you be?” Slater asked the strange person seated in front of him.

“Why, I’m the one who controls this place. I am simply called Administrator and Sarton Station is mine. Now, the real question isn’t who I am, can you guess what your question should be?” The Administrator asked in a taunting manner.

“Woah, boss, this creep sounds kind of crazy, watch yourself,” Pixi warned.

“Oh, the little fragment speaks does it, and before your pretend otherwise, you should know that your mind is an open book before me,” Administrator said. Slater could feel something touch his core, a new form of energy unlike the energy produced by his core and unlike the mana he could now harness. This was different, and it was invasive, trying to dig deep inside his core to see all that he knew.

Slater may not know what this new energy that the Administrator controlled was, but he did know how to defend himself. He was one of the few that pushed a parasite from his mind. He was the one that had resisted the madness of his transformation into a Derelict. He was one that shouldn’t be underestimated. With a surge of anger over this violation, Slater fought back against the new force. It was difficult, but he made slow progress. For a while he felt he could plumb the depths of this creature’s mind, understanding some of how it thought and what it believed. Slater kept up the momentum and pushed out the last vestiges of whatever had invaded his thoughts.

“Out of my head, freak. I’ve had this fight before and won, try again and I’ll consume you like I did the parasite,” Slater warned.

“Very nice, just as I had hoped, you have spunk and grit Slater. I do apologize for the intrusion, but I had to test if you were up to the task,” Administrator said.

“Just what is this ‘task’ and why are you in here harassing me. I take it this isn’t just some creepy hobby of yours?” Slater asked, still fuming over the assault on his mind.

“A hobby, perhaps, but no, I must first attend to business. Let me start by saying you’ve done well so far at covering your tracks, but I had discerned your true nature the moment you were brought aboard my station. I have allowed you to proceed, as your actions amused me, but now I must get something for my largesse at letting you stay aboard. After all, everything on Sarton Station has a price, nobody stays for free,” Administrator said.

“I suppose you’re going to get the point of what you want eventually?” Slater asked.

“Don’t rush this, Slater, I so seldom have fun in my interactions with others, and your situation is a rare one,” Administrator taunted.

“Let me guess, you’re excited to see I’m a real Derelict and not just a shard to perform in your arena. I suppose, given the way this station runs, that you want me to make something for you, change salvage into valuables or something along those lines?” Slater asked, convinced this was some elaborate shakedown to create wealth for this creep.

“Not in the least, the one thing I do not need are more credits. I can buy anything I desire, no, more credits are not what I’m interested in. The one thing that still interests me after centuries of life is entertainment. When you’ve lived as long as I have, things tend to get a bit stale. What I need from you, Slater, is something interesting to watch,” Administrator said.

“I’m only here to earn enough credits for a personal project. I have no desire to make my stay on Sarton Station a permanent one,” Slater said.

“I wouldn’t want that either, even watching a true Derelict Core perform would get stale eventually. We can work something out that is beneficial to both parties I believe,” Administrator offered. Slater was still unsure, this creature was toying with him, but Slater did get the impression it was being honest in its desires.

“What exactly is it you’re looking for and how can I benefit from it. Usually, these types of deals are a two-way street,” Slater offered.

“Ahh, we’ve entered the negotiation stage of our conversation. Let’s start small, a small question answered for a small reward. Do we have a deal?” Administrator asked.

“Sure, ask away and let’s see what kind of rewards you are willing to offer,” Slater replied.

“Boss, make sure this guy gives us something good, and tell him to give us his real name, calling him Administrator is kind of weird,” Pixi added.

“And there it is, my first question is about the little companion in your mind. During my brief foray inside, I could see you have him partitioned in a strange manner, almost autonomous and separate from your real mind. Why did you do this and what was the pattern for this little fragment of yourself?” Administrator asked. Slater thought for a few moments. He had no idea how much information this creature had already stripped from his mind earlier, it would likely be foolish to try and lie to it at this point.

“Fine, I’ll answer those questions for you. First would be the why, I had found myself drifting in space, slowly starving from lack of resources, and losing my mind to madness. I created Pixi to remind me of who I was once we were out of danger. I don’t recall everything about his creation process, but I suspect I chose Pixi because his presence would shock me back into reality. He’s based on the parasite that tried to consume me when I was first transformed into a Derelict,” Slater answered.

“Intriguing, you mean to tell me that you are not a parasite that still pretends to be its original host? You really do think you’re still the person that was transformed. That just doesn’t happen, not since the elves,” Administrator said.

“And for my reward?” Slater asked, anxious to see if this creature was going to honor their deal.

“True, you are deserving of a small reward. Just a moment,” Administrator got a strange look in his eyes and Slater saw more of the strange energy the creature could control flicker around it. The hatchway opened once more, and a pair of workers pushed a pallet load of salvage into the core room.

“Thank you. You can ask your next question,” Slater said.

“Now, don’t expect a load of salvage for each question, think of as a good faith gesture,” Administrator waved toward the salvage. “I’ll have more questions, but I’ll offer you an answer for an answer, surely there is something about this place you wish to know?” Administrator asked.

“Yes, you expressed interest in how I defeated the parasite, I’ll answer that if you tell me what you are,” Slater offered.

“Agreed, I am of the last of a race called the Yibhern,” Administrator said.

“Not exactly a whole of information there, Administrator, care to elaborate about your race?” Slater asked.

“No,” Administrator replied, and from the energy waves coming off the thing, Slater felt it would become angry if he pressed it for more details on the Yibhern.

“That was vague, but I suppose you did answer the question. As to how I survived the parasite, I’m a human and we seem to have the same ability to resist the parasite that the elves possessed,” Slater said.

“Interesting, I have heard of your people and their fight against the council, I can now see why they were so keen on wiping you out. It’s rare for us to see humans out here, they tend to stay inside their own territory for the most part. Of the few that have visited the station, they were outcasts with little to tell of their people,” Administrator said.

“Now, are we done with the question-and-answer segment? Can we get to the part where we form a mutually beneficial agreement?” Slater asked.

“Certainly, here is what I propose. The station will provide you with a larger area and greater resources. In return, you’ll fight your way to a higher tier, with more dangerous opponents. I cannot and will not directly manipulate your popularity ranking, but I can give you enough resources to work with where you will be able to make a bigger splash than you already have. You must put forth the effort and I expect you to hit top fifty in the rankings after the next three groups of contenders cycle through. Should you not reach this goal, our deal is off,” Administrator said. The Yibhern took a moment to let its demands sink in.

“In return, I will allow construction of your vessels to proceed without any interference on the part of Sarton Station. Your credit intake at the higher ranks should allow you to purchase the materials and components you need to complete your ships. Before you are allowed to depart, you will participate in one final extravaganza event that I will arrange. I suggest you agree to these terms, or you may find yourself languishing at the lower ranks and earning scraps. There is also the little matter of building a ship without permission and proper station permits,” Administrator offered.

It wasn’t really a choice; this creature knew what he was and what he planned to do. While Slater was powerful, he had no illusions on how long he would last if this Administrator decided he didn’t want him around anymore. Still, the fact that it had offered a deal and not simply given him orders, gave Slater some hope.

“How do I know you’ll keep your end of the bargain?” Slater asked.

“You don’t, but you can ask your Chixturax friends about how Sarton Station is run. In a place where anything can be bought and sold, the validity of someone’s word will often determine their worth. Ask a thousand inhabitants, you will find those that are disgruntled, that can’t be avoided, but you will find none who claim that the administration of Sarton Station has ever broken their word,” Administrator replied.

“I suppose we have a deal, given that you agree to allow the Chixturax to leave when I do,” Slater replied.

“Not a problem, one less destitute race running around the station would suit me just fine,” Administrator said.

“What happens now?” Slater asked.

“Now, I will provide you with more salvage and add several more compartments for your Derelict. Spice things up like you’ve already done, and in three days the next group of challengers will arrive. I can’t change your rankings, but I can arrange to have a popular group of challengers visit you. They will be difficult opponents, but putting on a good show will almost guarantee that you shoot up the ranks,” Administrator said.

“That sounds good, how do I contact you if something comes up,” Slater asked.

“You don’t, I’ll contact you if I need to, otherwise, you are simply another core shard that is competing in the arena as far as the rest of the station is concerned. Now, I believe it is time to grant you some more resources as well as additional compartments. You will also now have some limited control over your Derelict’s layout. With only seventy-two hours before the next contestants arrive, I suggest you work efficiently. Oh, I should mention that in order to help with the ratings, your core has been designated as a kill objective. That means the challengers that you face will get a very large credit bonus for killing you. I thought that might help motivate you. I find that the potential for a large reward and chance for a core shard to be destroyed really draws in the viewers,” Administrator said.

The creature floated from its chair, and out the now open hatch. More of the dwarven workers arrived, pushing pallets of salvage for him to work with. There was also a clanging noise heard throughout the Derelict as more compartments were added for his use. A small panel was installed next to his core, which would allow him to alter the layout of his Derelict. It was a one-shot affair, and once he set the design, it would be locked in until he was granted more compartments.

“Uh, did he just say the competitors are going to try and kill us?” Pixi said, echoing the shock that Slater was feeling.

“Looks that way, I think we may have just made a deal with the devil. Don’t worry, we’ve got lots of salvage, and with the risk of death on the line, we’ll hold nothing back,” Slater said with forced confidence.

“Well, boss, I suppose we’ve faced death in just about every other battle we’ve been involved in. Taking out these contestant chumps shouldn’t be that much different than boarding a gnomish station,” Pixi replied. His mental companion was correct. The risk of death had faced him with almost every encounter that Slater had faced since he had been transformed. This station would be no different. Of course, he would hold it against Administrator for leaving the whole risk of death thing out until the end of their conversation.

A notification was blinking at Slater, letting him know the research on his orcs was complete. Sadly, they weren’t the cybernetic killing machines he had hoped for, at least not yet. It looked like his core had simply used this research pass to optimize the orcish design, making the normal flesh and blood versions into deadly opponents. Now that he had a solid base to work from, the cybernetic upgrades should work much more efficiently. The real question was whether he could finish that research in time for the next fight.

With the Chixturax reactor upgrades finishing, he would push all the freed-up research capacity into the orc upgrades. After that, he’d make a pass at upgrading the gnomes, an idea for where they fit into the order of battle was already forming. In the meantime, he had a Derelict to design. The additional compartments brought him up to a total of ten. In addition, the dwarven work crews had crammed a dozen pallets of salvage into his core room, salvage that his construction drones were already working at breaking down. To speed things up, he ordered another pair of drones printed up, he would need lots of MOBS and construction work done and it with his mind at full capacity, he didn’t need to skimp on workers.

His current Derelict layout was pretty bad, this time, he would go with something similar to what he had back on the Franklin. There would be five compartments in a row, with the hatch linking the final compartment in that row to the five final ones. Hatchways would be randomized to prevent a straight shot, but he couldn’t add any longer connecting passages due to the way the station had the compartments configured. One compartment would always open directly into another, eliminating some potential trap chokepoints.

With his mind back at full capacity, Slater intended to pack as many MOBS into the defense of his core as he could. He would bleed these competitors every step of the way. If they were used to dealing with crazed core shards, he was about to educate them on how deadly a true Derelict could be.