Simo crouched behind two rusted stairwell doors, now a makeshift barrier, in the hallway's mouth, the Central Lift Nexus sprawled before him like a killing field.

The air reeked with burnt flesh, death, and chemicals. It thrummed, charged with imminent violence.

Highly efficient and extremely cheap low-pressure sodium lamps buzzed overhead, casting ragged shadows across the grimy duracrete floor, rendering color strangely.

Two stairwells, now doorless, one at each end of nexus, leaked the pounding of boots on stairs.

Kong crouched beside him, his power armor creaking under his bulk, his cybernetic hands flashing around as he checked his equipment and the belt feed on his auto-pistol. It was a big one, a snarling beast of a weapon, the ammo conduit snaking into his arm, feeding it some type of projectile round without need of changing magazines.

His metal-plated face gleamed as his optic lenses whirred, scanning the nexus, all the corpses and destruction.

"A lift's about to arrive," Kong rumbled out in his deep voice, like the sound of rocks tumbling down a mountain. "They'll be bigger waves this time."

Four lifts, two on each side, whined with ominous clanks, their doors sealed but trembling under the weight of the gangers massed within.

Simo nodded, gripping his Doombringer, ensuring his cybernetic arm didn't clamp the handguard too tightly, damaging it.

He murmured a blessing to the Three, praying for him and Kong to make it out of this mess. He'd already used his Augmented Frame Capstone to restore some resources, but he wished he brought more ammo.

A lift pinged as its doors split open with a screech. Eight gangers spilled out, Eighth and Echo Boys in patched and dirty but high-quality armor, eyes filled with desperation.

Auto-blasters roared, spraying bolts that sparked off the makeshift barrier and hallway's walls. Simo activated Heat Sink as he snapped his Doombringer to his shoulder, a weapon not made for such short-ranged combat, the preset zeros for much greater ranges, sighting on a ganger.

A particle beam lanced out, a white-hot spear that punched through a ganger's chest like the armor wasn't even there, vaporizing flesh and bone in a crackling burst, and the man crumpled.

Kong's optic lenses flared, twin laser beams slicing through the gloom. Usually, they'd be red, but under the monochromatic yellow light, the beams looked black.

They carved into a second ganger, melting his faceplate into slag, his body collapsing in a smoldering heap.

Kong roared as his auto-pistol chattered, spitting rounds, tearing through the air, shredding two more gangers into bloody rags, their armor no match for its storm.

Simo pivoted, his Doombringer singing again, but the short range made targeting difficult, the beam slicing a ganger's arm clean off, sending the limb sizzling on the floor.

The man howled, clutching the stump, until Simo's second shot, enhanced with Snipe, vaporized his skull. For the millionth time, he wondered if he should switch to his laser pistol, but if he did, two of his three Abilities wouldn't work.

The second lift opened, vomiting six more gangers. These carried the usual mix of auto-blasters and pistols, some wielding blades in their off hand, their edges keening with ultrasonic hums, and one hefted a chainsaw, its spiked links rattling.

Kong sprayed, cutting down three, then his left hand erupted in fire. A gout of flame engulfed two gangers that had charged and gotten close to their position, their screams warping as skin blackened and armor melted.

Some Ability tore into the wall near Simo's head. His lancer dropped another as he cursed. Kong was slaughtering way more of these disgusting slavers than him. The barrier rocked as a bright light blazed out of a ganger's hand, exploding on it.

The last two lifts arrived, gangers pouring out as more rushed from the stairwells.

The two Peregrines kept taking them down, getting the bloody work done, firing, fighting.

When there were too many, and too close, his body shining from some Ability buff, Kong hopped over the barrier, swinging his auto-pistol like a club, crushing the skull of a man about to activate a power with a sick crunch, sending brain matter splattering on the wall.

Simo vented the lancer, gaining a moments invisibility, before dropping it, drawing his sidearm, hopping the barrier, and wading in too, burning holes through chests and heads.

He spun, spitting laser beams, as Kong sprayed actual fire from one hand, and rounds from a constantly bucking weapon in the other, the occasional eye-beam melting someone.

Five gangers crept up on Simo. He activated Hide, turning invisible, and barreled into one in the middle, his cybernetic hand grabbing the throat of another, squeezing, and his pistol taking out the two on the right with chest shots.

The man in the middle, on the floor now, got his head stomped on, splattering it with a wet crunch, as Simo got the last ganger on his left with a beam from his Radius Manus mod.

He rolled, making himself a hard target, shooting, getting a ganger right in the eye, spotting shadows in the north stairwell as more gangers spewed out of the south.

He thought it was a bad move for Kong to leave their hallway and cover, but Simo was saving on lancer ammo, and he was almost killing as many slaver scum as his beast of companion now.

Kong's laser eyes burned, blowing a man's head clean off.

Simo had to stay moving, weaving in between small groups, making himself a hard target, and causing the gangers to blast some of their own as he changed out his pistol's spent cell.

Then he was back to sowing death, killing as many with his cybernetic limbs and hand blasts as with his pistol.

One ganger got Kong in the back with a glowing sword. Sparks flew, but it only clanged off the power armor.

Kong roared again, fire bursting from his hand, turning a few gangers to ash while bashing the one with the power-sword's head in with a backhanded blow. A blade grew from his hand, piercing another through a helm's visor, and tiny rockets flew from his knuckles, curling through the air, killing a few others with explosions.

Simo ducked a blade's swing, then slammed the pistol's stock into the ganger's exposed face, cracking bone and killing him, then fired point-blank at another, the laser beam boring a hole in the man's unprotected neck.

Clearly the gangers had gotten around the duracrete slabs sectioning wings off, as they kept coming. The nexus was a chaos of bolts and beams crisscrossing, blood pooling on the filthy and corpse-laden floor, the air reeking worse and worse by the minute.

A dozen gangers, led by a brute in spiked armor wielding a double-barreled turret in his hands, dashed out a stairwell, activating Defensive Fortification, dropping behind the blocks of light. The leader stood behind, his shots hammered Simo's armor as he dove, the HUD lighting up with red warnings.

A grenade from Simo, his second to last, and four missiles from Kong, flew over the light blocks and tore into the group, the explosions sending body parts flying.

Only the brute was left standing, but Simo got him through the shattered visor with a hand blast, dropping him.

The stairwells erupted, more gangers flooding in. Simo dove and rolled as he shot. Kong raised his left hand, fire surging in a roaring arc, the stream continuing as his auto-pistol bucked, spraying.

His fire sealed the stairway's mouth in a blaze. Gangers screamed, trapped on the other side, silhouettes writhing in the flames.

Simo kicked out a man's knee, aiming his pistol at a ganger with a lancer, picking him off before he got a bead on Kong.

He dove away from some sort of beam Ability, but he wasn't quick enough. It pierced his armor, digging deep in his side. Pain flared, but he gritted his teeth and kept moving, kept blasting, kept pulling the trigger, firing again and again, beams punching through gangers, corpses and auto-blasters clattering to the floor.

There were too many, and Simo's armor was taking too many hits. He tossed his last grenade and dove behind some corpses as bolts sparked around him.

Kong stood tall in the mess, shots pinking off his armor and cybernetics, laser-eyes carving through two gangers. The auto-pistol's belt-feed whined as it ran low, and the weapon stopped spitting rounds. He ripped a conduit from the wall, wielding it like a spear, impaling a ganger through the gut. Fire burst from his hand, igniting a few others.

Simo's pistol kept burning holes through bodies until he ran out of spare cells. He made his way back to the hallway, the makeshift barrier, and his lancer.

A lift dinged again. Things got hectic. Real dicey, wading hip deep in the muck.

Simo took a few out with the Doombringer. Kong met his foes head-on, his power armor and cybernetics smashing skulls with thunderous cracks, his blade slicing through flesh, fire and lasers burning into the rest.

Simo covered him, each shot a prayer, waiting for his lancer to run dry.

The nexus was a slaughterhouse, bodies piling all over the floor, as the two Peregrines were ground down, tougher gangers arriving, better armed and armored, with stronger Abilities, driven by mist or madness or desperation.

The two men stood back-to-back, blood and ash coating the nexus. Another lift pinged, and more gangers spilled out of the stairwell.

They were outnumbered, outgunned, out of ammo, nearly out of Energy Points and Charges, their armor cracked.

Things weren't looking so good, but Simo had fighting to do, so got to it, until a heavy blow slammed into his helmet, sending the world spinning as his HUD became only static, drowning him in a haze of disorientation. Pain throbbed through his skull as his mod suite rebooted.

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He felt a shift in the air, something vast, like a storm breaking. Men began screaming in horror. Simo shook his head, trying to clear it.

Kong's arm clamped around Simo's shoulder, hauling him back toward the makeshift barrier. "Move, old man!" Kong growled.

Simo's head swam, the hit to his helmet still ringing in his brain. He slumped behind the barrier, gasping, as Kong crouched beside him. The sounds of combat drew further away, from beyond the nexus.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Kong put his hand on Simo's shoulder. "Saint Thryna's here. Our part in this fight's done."

It took Simo a second to understand.

"She's always listening to comms chatter," Kong said, his deep voice calm now, without a care in the world. "She hates slavers. She was born and raised one. I knew she'd come. She'll keep Hidetada off our backs for disobeying orders too."

Simo nodded, thinking better, the fog in his mind clearing. He peeked over the barrier, seeing no gangers, only hearing the distant roar of destruction.

"Task got upgraded," Kong added. "By Divine Theosis itself, no less. We're to find out who these slummers are being sold to."

Hearing that caused relief to flood Simo's chest. They'd get to the bottom of this, put an end to it. When he told Veerta about his day, he knew she'd be proud of him. Maybe he'd get lucky too. She'd been a lot more randy since her healing dunk.

He pulled up his screens, still catching his breath, checking the upgraded task and logs.

While his screens were opened, he checked his Annals, cursing upon seeing none of that killing had granted XP, even though they were slavers, pretty much Heretics. He was still a sliver away from level 75.

ANNALS OF LAYMAN SIMO AGIAD (ZEALOUS HEART, SAFE HAVEN, NOTUM, PANEGYRICA-CYGNUS)

Age: 59

Social: L2, Tironeus, Liberi Humiles

Employment: Servant, Ship-Designation Zephuros 002:E06:11:12

Tier: 3

Rank: Disciple

Level: 74

XP: 98%

Glory Points: 38

ATTRIBUTES, STATS, AND ADROITNESS

(Each Attribute Point increases all Stats governed by that Attribute by 1. Applying 4 Stat Points to the same Stat will increase the governing Attribute by 1. Numbers in (parentheses) include increases from items.)

BODY (Physical Attributes): 20 (26)

Physique (Size/Strength): 30 (36)

Endurance (Stamina/Health): 32 (38)

Toughness (Physical Durability/Resistance): 36 (77)

MIND (Non-Physical Attributes): 19

Competence (Skill Points/Insight): 29

Cognizance (Awareness/Perception): 31 (37)

Resilience (Non-Physical Durability/Resistance): With 18 SP applied – 59 (66)

SPIRIT (Metaphysical Attributes): With 18 AP applied – 34

Power Level (PL) (Ability Damage and Effectiveness): 40

Energy (Resource for Powers shown as Energy Points equal to 2 + (Energy Stat x 2)): 38 (42)

Charges (Increases the number of times certain Abilities can be used equal to Charges/2): 38 (39)

ADROITNESS (Finesse/Reaction/Speed): 3 (4)

RESOURCES

Current/Maximum Energy Points: 11/86 (+30*)

Current/Maximum Charges: 1/19 (+9*)

CLASSES

1 – ARCARIUS:

A master of precision and subterfuge, the Arcarius is a solitary hunter who strikes unseen from range with deadly accuracy. Wielding a high-powered lancer rifle, they control the battlefield with calculated shots and tactical evasion. They deliver devastating, pinpoint strikes with Snipe, while remaining elusive with Hide, using Heatsink to outlast their enemies. Arcariuses thrive in the chaos of war, turning critical moments into decisive victories.

SKILLS

(1 Skill Point available)

Armor, Heavy Armor, Power Armor 3

Armor, Medium Armor, Imperial Armor 3

Drone Control 1

Meditation 3

Ranged Combat 3

Ranged Weapons, Firearms, Rifles, Auto-Blasters 3

Ranged Weapons, Firearms, Rifles, Lancers 3

TRAITS

DANGER SENSE: You have a slight preternatural ability to sense danger and react to it more quickly.

EAGLE EYE: Your keen senses spot threats and weaknesses, sharpening awareness, granting +2 Cognizance and a greater ability to detect hidden enemies or traps.

ENERGY RECYCLER: Your tech systems reclaim wasted power, granting 1 Energy Point every 3 minutes in battle, or 18 minutes at rest.

GRITTY RESOLVE: Your stubborn will resists mental strain, whispers of darkness, and corrupting effects, granting +2 Resilience.

IRON FOCUS: Your mental discipline resists distractions, granting +2 Resilience and a greater ability to resist temptations.

IRON GUT: Your body shrugs off toxins and harsh conditions, granting +2 Toughness and a greater resistance to poison and radiation.

NEURAL OVERLOAD: Your enhanced neural pathways sharpen focus, enhancing perception, reactions, and skills, granting +2 Competence and slightly greater resistance to dark whispers.

OVERCLOCKED CEREBRUM: Your mind processes information faster, granting split-second reactions and a minor ability to resist corrupting effects.

PAIN THRESHOLD: You grit through pain, staying focused under duress, granting +2 Toughness.

IMPLANTS

Head: Cerebrum Accelerans, Infernus Oculus, Neural Interface (Drones), Neurvux, Sanctapex Trivux, Somnoregulator

Torso: Capacitas Energetica (4 Energy /1 Charge)

Left Arm: Brachium Durabilia

Manus Stabilis – A gyroscopic brace reducing weapon sway and recoil and enhancing aim with ranged weapons.

Radius Manus – Hand mod projecting a concentrated energy beam.

Scanner – Performs environmental scans, data analysis, providing information about composition, structure, and presence of life forms.

Right Leg: Crura Durabilia

Mods:

Velum Sensorium – Emits a low-frequency disruption field, scrambling sensor-based detection systems such as motion, thermal, or environmental scans.

Pedes Silens – Sound-dampening servos enable stealthy movement and dampening sound.

Stabilis – Hydraulic stabilizers and shock-absorbing joints enhance positioning, improve jump height, reduce fall damage and recoil when firing ranged weapons while standing or kneeling in a stationary position.

Left Leg: Crura Durabilia

Mods:

Occultator Vitae – Suppresses bio-signatures such as heartbeats, neural activity, or metabolic traces, rendering the user nearly invisible to life-signs scans.

Pedes Silens – Sound-dampening servos enable stealthy movement and dampening sound.

Stabilis – Hydraulic stabilizers and shock-absorbing joints enhance positioning, improve jump height, reduce fall damage and recoil when firing ranged weapons while standing or kneeling in a stationary position.

Dermal: (Bioware) Bio-Adaptive Integument – A living dermal lattice of organic fibers and nanotech filaments, creating a resilient, self-repairing barrier, dynamically adapting to some environmental hazards, reducing general hazard category by 1 tier.

CAPSTONES

Overclocked Core

Increase Body, Mind, and Spirit by 2

Requires Cerebrum Accelerans head implant and any Energy capacity increasing implant (not mod) to be installed. During active combat, you gain 1 Energy every 4 minutes and 1 Charge every 8 minutes. For each higher Tier attained, reduce Energy gain time by 40 seconds and Charge gain time by 1 minute and 20 seconds.

Augmented Frame

Increases Body, Mind, and Spirit by 2

Requires at least 3 full, durable cybernetic implants. Your cybernetic enhancements bolster your frame, granting a 10-second system reset during which no movement or action can be taken, restoring 25% of Energy Points and Charges, plus slight healing.

Cooldown: 72 hours minus 24 hours per each higher Tier attained.

Cost: NA

ABILITIES

(Selected Upgrades Bolded. Cooldown and cost reflect selected Upgrades in (parentheticals). Ability description does not reflect selected Upgrades.)

From Arcarius:

1 – SNIPE

Empowering your next lancer shot, dealing an additional 3 x PL damage with doubled critical chance.

Cooldown: 2 minutes (1 minute 20 seconds)

Cost: 7 Energy, 2 Charges (5 Energy, 1 Charge)

Upgrades:

Fervor 1: Critical hits pierce to a second target within 2 meters.

Fervor 1: Critical hits pierce to a second and third target within 4 meters.

Merciless 1: Critical hits slow the target by 33% for 2 seconds.

Merciless 1: Critical hits slow the target by 66% for 3 seconds.

Mighty 1: Damage increases to 5 x PL.

Mighty 2: Damage increases to 7 x PL.

Rage: Reduces cooldown by a third.

Zeal: Reduces Energy cost by a third and charges by 1.

Sacred Upgrades:

(A) Divine Mark 1: Marks the target, reducing their damage mitigation by 6% for 5 seconds.

(A) Divine Mark 2: Mark duration increases to 7 seconds, mitigation reduction to 12%.

(C) Divine Mark 3: Mark duration increases to 9 seconds, mitigation reduction to 18%, and shot does double damage against armor or mechanics.

2 – HEAT SINK

Absorb lancer heat, reducing thermal buildup by 30% and boosting fire rate by 10% for 10 seconds.

Cooldown: 1 minute (40 Seconds)

Cost: 6 Energy, 1 Charge (4 Energy, 1 Charge)

Upgrades:

Enduring 1: Duration increases to 15 seconds.

Enduring 2: Duration increases to 20 seconds.

Fervor: Thermal buildup reduction increases to 40% and fire rate boost increases to 15%, but Energy cost rises to 4.

Merciless: Shots during the duration ignore 10% of target resistances.

Mighty 1: Adds 0.1 x PL holy damage per shot.

Mighty 2: Adds 0.2 x PL holy damage per shot.

Rage: Reduces cooldown by a third.

Zeal: Reduces Energy cost by a third.

Sacred Upgrades:

(A) Blessed Vent 1: The first shot after activation uses no ammo or energy.

(A) Blessed Vent 2: The first two shots after activation use no ammo or energy.

(C) Blessed Vent 3: The first three shots after activation use no ammo or energy and venting grants a 1.5-second invisibility effect.

3 – HIDE

Fade into shadows, gaining invisibility and 25% damage mitigation for 6 seconds or until you receive damage or attack.

Cooldown: 2 minutes (1 minute 20 seconds)

Cost: 7 Energy, 2 Charges (5 Energy, 1 Charge)

Upgrades:

Enduring 1: Duration increases to 9 seconds.

Enduring 2: Duration increases to 12 seconds.

Fervor: Movement speed increases by 15% while hidden.

Merciless: First attack from Hide stuns the target for 0.5 second.

Mighty 1: The first instance of area of effect damage taken does not remove invisibility.

Mighty 2: The first instance of any damage taken does not remove invisibility.

Rage: Reduces cooldown by a third.

Zeal: Reduces Energy cost by a third and Charges by 1.

Sacred Upgrades:

(A) Shadow Veil 1: Breaking invisibility with an attack increases the attacks damage by 10%.

(A) Shadow Veil 2: Breaking invisibility with an attack increases the attacks damage by 20%.

(C) Shadow Veil 3: Breaking invisibility with an attack increases the attacks damage by 30% and doubles its critical chance.

ITEMS

Primary Weapon: Doombringer Lancer, V14.1M5/5, Particle Rifle, Tier 3.

Mods: Hidden

Secondary Weapon: Lamina Fang Pistol, V9M5/5, Laser Handgun, Tier 3.

Mods: Hidden

Armor: Power Armor, Vanquisher (Light), Tier 3, 4/4 mods, w/customizations (+1 Adroitness, +6 Body, +35 Toughness, +6 Cognizance, +2 Resilience).

Mods: Hidden

Back: Power Pack (Tier 3) – Energy cell rig providing 30 Energy Points and 9 Charges to imbue weapons, armor, and mods, excluding Abilities.

Necklace: Beads of Accuracy (Tier 3) – Enhances precision with ranged weapons at extended distances.

Ring 1: Temperatum (Tier 3) – Grants a 9% chance a lancer shot affected by an Ability will not use ammo, Energy, and Charges.

Ring 2: Experientia Profectus (Tier 3) – Boosts experience points gained by 24%.

Trinket/Accessory: Negatus Susurri – Decreases vulnerability to dark whispers and corruption, increasing Resilience by 5 points.

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