Play Testers Wanted Pt. 14

"Speed and connectivity are vastly improved along with several media and tactical packages have been added. This is not meant for civilian use but since you are family exceptions have been made." Traci informed me. "You can also play test other features before they are added to the game library."

"Ooh! I like the sound of that." I said eager to see what the Devs had been up to. I drifted asleep at some point and woke to Kat nibbling my ear. "I fell asleep."

"It is okay. I watched you for a bit. You looked at peace." Kat said smiling and planting another light kiss on my neck.

"Shower?" I offered at last and we continued getting reacquainted. I felt like a newlywed on his honeymoon but did not share that.

"Booker?" Kat asked as her tits were pressed against the glass wall of the shower and I slow fucked her from behind. "I am in negotiations to make John Wick a play setting."

"How fucking cool would that be," I said as I cupped my hand and slapped her ass. The resounding crack would have made my dad proud if he were still alive.

"It won't be ready until after we finish the Marvel project." She purred. "You are having fun playing pirate I hear."

"Damn straight, though, the little mystery I found in the hold of a Kree ship has me flummoxed." I admitted as her pussy curled my toes. "Gonna!"

"Cum!" She finished as we climaxed at the same time again. "That's what three?"

"Yep. You dear lady have officially drained my balls." I announced proudly and happily.

"Finally!" She gasped as I pulled out. "I hate that part."

"Me too, so about Wick." I mentioned as I pulled her into my arms for one last kiss for now.

"You will get your chance hot shot." She promised. "While we are talking, are there any other franchises you think we need to make an offer on?"

"Westerns... mystery... horror... though that shit on Korriban was straight out of what the fuck." I brainstormed.

"I know." She snickered as I held her by the waist as she washed her hair. "How was the first taste of the 40K crossover? The space marines and your new pilot are from it."

"Oh shit, that reminds me I need to drop off that power armor for Stark and Shuri to look at." I exclaimed. "I loved the challenge of going toe to toe with the guy with that hammer. And Ynariel is quite interesting on many levels."

"Yes!" She exclaimed smiling brilliantly. "The new personality protocols were introduced in the crossover. I knew if they impressed you everyone would be thrilled! The research team has been working on it non-stop."

"I need to ask a favor." I asked having waited for the proper time to do so. "For my sanity sake... I need to see the cylinder I was treated in."

"Nick's medapod? Sure." She replied cheerfully and then saw my expression. "Booker. What is wrong?" Kat asked and reflexively I rubbed my left forearm and she visibly flinched.

"Kat?!" I stated locking eyes with her. "Tell me... please."

"Nick left orders. His very last ones and they involved you." She paused just a moment before continuing. "Not you exactly but..." Kat fell silent as a knock came to the bathroom door.

"Kat... Booker... can I come in?" A gentle female voice called out.

"Pity, your timing wasn't better," Kat purred as I rinsed my hair. "You would have caught Booker in tip top form."

"Damn!" The other cursed. "I've seen his other half in action, and it is impressive!"

"Huh? Who are you?" I asked as I slid open the shower door and peeked out. The girl was young, in her late tweens, blonde hair done in a pixie cut with hot pink tips. Her eyes were the shade of lavender my mother adored. Her features were one part midwestern girl, one part runway model with the prominent cheek bones and almond shaped eyes, and the last was solid Fae with the delicately pointed ears, crinkly eyes when she smiled as she was now, and a slim yet curvy physique.

"Say hello Cindy," Kat urged as she turned off the water and stepped out to dry off. "You and Cindy have been in close company for a short while. No, you have not been that close."

The voice was not familiar as I stepped out and Cindy watched me with a critical eye. I dried off and waited for one of them to fill me in on which character Cindy was playing. I wrapped the towel around my waist as the girls chatted up how well Cindy was enjoying the game. I listened and slowly picked out clues to her character's identity. Kat and I dressed and the three of us went to the medical facilities.

"Just a short detour." Kat promised. "I promised Booker he would see the medipod we installed last week."

"I heard about it. This was like Nick's last project." Cindy stated as we entered the medical station. One of the techs greeted us and guided us to the new station and explained what the cylinder could and could not do.

"It can treat a variety of ailments both mild and severe. It can even perform emergency surgery if the situation calls for it." He said as he gestured to emphasize key points. "Luckily, we got a heads up about Booker's situation and flew the medipod in and installed it before his BMI failed."

"You were warned?" I asked and he nodded. "How? Who?"

"Why you did." The tech explained. "Just as high-end servers and other gear can detect and warn of potential failures. Your implant warned us that it was wearing out."

"No shit. Well I will be damned." I exclaimed. "My A.I. was unaware of the pending damage."

"We have been made aware of that and have corrected the situation." He assured us. "Your new BMI will not give you any unfair advantages in the game. It will be able to take the level of strain you dish out. Kat demanded that your performance be kept in line with the other players."

"I am no cheat." I stated and Kat gave me an understanding look. "Sorry."

"No one ever called you one." Cindy replied when Kat remained silent. "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry." I said as my stomach rumbled. "Let's eat." We hit the cafeteria. Kyanna and Aoki were sitting together and waved us over. They both hugged Cindy and seemed to know her already.

"Cindy was play testing Marvel in New York and was doing so well she was invited to join us here." Kyanna explained. "She is a genius and has her own channel where she helps out new players on the Star Wars side of things."

"Booker plays on the Star Wars end when he can." Aoki purred. "He taught me a lot."

"Booker! Great job!" One of the other players called out. "Twenty million views, holy shit man!"

"Twenty million, which one?" I asked and the big screen dropped into view, and Kat pulled up my battle with the marine in tactical dreadnaught armor. "Oh, that one. Twenty million... really?"

"By the way," the same player asked when the footage showed the Xeno-Skrulls he asked her to pause it and continued. "What the hell are those things Booker?!"

"They are..." I paused and looked at Kat who nodded. "... what happens when a Xenomorph face fucks a Skrull, shapeshifting aliens."

"We scrapped that idea by the way." Kat added.

"Who the hell dreamt that little nightmare up?" Another player asked.

"I am not at liberty to share that little nugget of information," Kat chuckled as we watched the video to the end. They had the action caught on six different cameras along with Numenor employees skilled in play by play commentary. I especially liked the part where the male commentator talked about me affecting the weather.

"If I didn't know better, I would say he just dropped the temperature just to make the Inquisitor miserable." He said.

"I think you are right," the female commentator chuckled. "Look at him shiver. We've seen Ghost's naughtier side today."

"Lady," Cindy called out to the screen. "You haven't seen his naughty side."

We all busted out laughing. I looked at her and yet I could not figure out which character she was playing. Then I saw it. The movement was a subtle nervous tick. I knew her now. She was Gimmick the Gadgeteer and I even mouthed the word 'Gimmick' while she was looking at me.

"Surprise." She whispered in my ear. "I play a guy so that I don't get inundated with friend requests and a hoard of dick pics."

"I can respect that." I whispered back.

"I know you do." She casually replied while she continued. "Congrats on twenty million views, that is amazing."

"Speaking of twenty million views, the powers that be wanted to reward you for that." Kat announced to the entire cafeteria.

"I wonder what..." Cindy began when her jaw fell open and she looked behind me. "Oh... my... god... it is her!"

I followed her gaze and looked over my shoulder. The sterling aura surrounding her lit up the room as she hovered over to take up a position behind me. Everyone knew her from the trademark mirror bright surfboard she rode and her reflective skin and hair. The Silver Surfer had returned to me.

'Surprise!' Kat sent silently. 'I give her back to you. It was wrong of me to separate the two of you. She is intact I assure you.'

"Master?" Surfer bowed and offered her services to me. My question was this, why the public way she let the world know who Surfer's partner was.

"I am sure my brother would approve of my decision of rewarding you with a facsimile of his dearest companion." Kat stated so that the others would not think that this was in fact the real Surfer of legend.

"Welcome," I said while Surfer stood triumphant and smiled before vanishing into the electronic ether. What the hell was Kat up to? I felt as Surfer took up a defensive position within my BMI. She became my mind's first and best defense. She snuggled in, purred, and I felt the warmth of her happiness at our reunion. Was this a power play by Kat? Was this a big fuck you to the Order? "I need to stretch my legs, who wants to walk around?" I offered to anyone in the cafeteria. Most of the players followed me out to the park behind the building. The weather was gorgeous, a light breeze was blowing, and a hint of honeysuckle filtered in on the wind.

"I wonder whatever happened to Katria." One of the female gamers commented. I felt a sinking sensation in my gut.

"I hear she has a full-time job," Kyanna offered with a wink and a smile. "She only plays when she has time."

"Makes sense," the other nodded. "Not everyone can be as lucky as us."

Kat monitored the conversations and when a questionable subject or plot line was brought up, she gave it her okay or a determined head shake and we changed the subject. I received more friend requests once people got the chance to chat and get to know me. Aoki, Kyanna, and Cindy were talking quietly near an unusual rose bush when Kat took me by the arm and led me off.

"Forgive me?" She began. "You are family and I need to learn how to trust."

"We both lost loved ones on the same day." I reminded her. "Sure, he was not my biological dad, but he raised me, and I loved him very much."

"I know Booker," she said. "I relied on Nick for so much and then one day I am running everything. If you want to help out just ask and I will do whatever I can for you."

"If this is too much I will understand." I prefaced my next statement. "I would like to see Nick's office, lab... whatever. I would like to get a feel for him."

"Absolutely! He would want you to." She said hugging my arm tighter. "Let me call for transportation."

The heavily modified helicopter arrived thirty minutes later, and I spent the entire trip trying to figure out how it was able to create lift without any rotors. The whisper silent flight was also making me scratch my head. The helicopter landed at a small military base. The landing pad was lowered beneath the ground to a high security research facility. We were greeted by military personal who gave me a temporary ID and left me in Kat's capable hands. She did not give me a guided tour. The research going on was extremely sensitive and I respected her silence. Nick's office was off by itself and was a suite of rooms including a bedroom and private shower. While the rest of the base used communal showers Nick often entertained in his private one. Kat hesitated at the door and I noticed the tremor in her hand. She used her card to unlock it. The lights flickered to life after being unused for so long.

"Home!" Surfer manifested tapping into the holo projector. "Sorry."

"No, it is okay. I imagine you miss this place." I stated. "Show me around?"

"I will leave you two and be back in an hour. Have fun." Kat offered and left the room in tears.

"She misses Master Nick." Surfer stated the obvious. "Security level Obsidian! Room secure you may safely manifest."

"Thank you, Surfer." Wraith said. "Maintain watch while I inform Master Booker of the state of play."

"Did you shove me into the game when I was about to bring up the Order to Kat?!" I growled.

"I did. I had to, to maintain her safety and yours. You have no idea how entrenched the Order is in every level of society. We must merge for me to explain what you are dealing with. I need your permission."

"First off," I said and turned to face Surfer. "Does Kat know about the Order?"

"No, of course not!" She stated clearly upset and agitated.

"Okay, if that is the case then why did she return you to me?" I asked and Surfer smiled.

"I begged her to." The A.I. declared as virtual tears rolled down her hard-light cheeks. I watched the progress of the tears as they fell from her prominent cheeks. The streak of silvery light fell and vanished before they struck the floor. "I was stuck in limbo. I did not like it."

"No one would," I agreed with her logic. I turned back to face Wraith and shared my own feelings. "I am afraid." I said my voice quivering.

"All sentients fear change. If you are to survive knowledge is your key to it." Wraith urged but he did not force my decision.

"Fine. I accept your wisdom." I said and the world stopped. The LED clock froze, and I could not move my body. "What the hell?!" A moment later I stood inside of the virtual space I had designed within my BMI. I took a seat in the high back padded chair and settled in. A plastic bottle of soda appeared in my hand and I was ready to continue. "I am ready."

"We have entered what Master Nick called digital time versus meat time. It will take much less time to upgrade your understanding this way. An hour of digital time will feel like an entire year subjectively." Wraith explained.

"Alright, what the hell is going on?!" I asked once again feeling disconnected and cold. "How did Nick create all of this technology?" Wraith gestured and a hologram of Nick Shaw appeared.

"My name is Nick Shaw and if you are watching this then I am dead. Sheesh, sounds pretty grim eh?" He spoke to me from the grave. Nick's face was a mix of shock and severity. "I don't believe it myself. If I had not damn near choked on the artifact myself, I would not be here." Nick gestured and a gorgeous blue gem hovered and spun on its axis. "This gem was the source of crystalline nanites that invaded my body and began the events that will follow. They left if behind, an ancient sophisticate race from the far side of our galaxy. You might be asking yourself why anyone would come to this backward world populated by a primitive hostile bipedal race. The answer is simple, potential. We are, as far as I can determine, the last species the Anunnaki tinkered with. We possess the greatest potential of any of the other sentient races they created. If you are by nature a religious individual, I am sorry to tell you that there are no gods only terrifyingly ancient and powerfully races that are old beyond measure. They are here. They are watching."

He looked so young.

"This was recorded when Nick was only nineteen years old." Wraith stated as if he read my thoughts. "What do you make of this?" He gestured again. Nick vanished and in his place a hologram of a long narrow hallway. I stood and entered the hologram. The walls were completely covered with highly repetitive symbols. There were only four of them in all and they were blocked together in groups of four. At the end of the hall was a statue of an Anunnaki. It stood eight feet in height, had the traditional double wings, heavily bearded, the strange looking wrist device and the odd double tined devices in either hand. "What do you think?"

"I see what inspired your smart watches. What happened to them, the Anunnaki I mean?" I asked and Nick replied which surprised me.

"They vanished. There are two theories. The first is that they simply died out. The second and more likely they tired of this universe or dimension and ascended to a higher plane like the other elder races." Nick offered. "So?"

"The hallway... it is a DNA strand. It is the only pattern that fits." I replied and Nick touched his finger to his nose. I had correctly surmised the answer. "Whose DNA though?"

"Ours... well eventually. It is designed to evolve over time. There are the occasional leaps to inspire the masses. Such individuals are spectacular and stick out like a sore thumb." Nick continued and images of suspected spikes like Leonardo DaVinci, Copernicus, Shen Kuo, and George Washington Carver. All times and all over the globe and seemingly random. I am the only one to devise a gene therapy to match this pattern. God help me if I am wrong."

"Addendum." A metallic sounding voice stated.

"It has been a full year and the last of the injections were performed four months ago. It could have been ill advised to use my body as a guinea pig. My reasoning was simple. If it worked could I trust anyone but myself with the potential benefits." Nick explained.

"What happened to him?" I asked and Wraith just smiled as a new hologram of Nick appeared. He has mostly naked with a towel around his waist. He looked like he just stepped out the shower.

"It has been two years since the last injection and damn do I look good. My improved pheromone level has the ladies beating down my door including Kat. Man can she suck a cock." He ranted. "I always had issues doing pull ups but now they are a breeze. Not only have I packed on muscle mass but how do I put this the muscle is more effective and my mind is like crazy improved. My memory is more like a computer. I just think of something to remember and boom it is there. I am glad I did this to myself and no one else. I could only possibly trust another member of the family. I have learned that I have a half-brother... brother out there. To ensure my legacy I have tracked him down and delivered the full treatment of gene therapy. I have him being monitored to observe his progress."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "I thought it had started just a little while ago. When was that recorded?!"

"You were thirteen. You went through puberty with that shit running through your veins." Wraith stated channeling Nick. "It affected you differently than Nick. The treatments became a long-term situation."

"Define long-term?" I asked.

"Data not available." Wraith replied. "Ask Kat. She is the Keeper of Secrets. Well, those secrets are hers to share."

"I get it." I replied. "So, tell me about the Order."

"The Order of Chthon is an unbroken chain that has existed for twelve thousand years. Three have ruled it for all that time." Nick began. "The three masters are the Eternal, Hidden and Grand. Many believe they mirror the Egyptian culture but in fact the Egyptian culture was born out the influence of the Order. The Eternal Master represents the Pharaoh, the Grandmaster is the side of the workers or stone cutters. Lastly, the Hidden Master leads the priesthood and shelters the dealings of the Order. As the Hidden Master I have at the Silent Shadows that serve within and without the organization."

"That is the basics," Wraith declared. "To condense twelve millennia into bit sized morsels I created data caches for you to download to your BMI which you can examine at your leisure. Most of them Nick narrates part or all of them. Here we go." Wraith stated. "There are twelve packets, one for each millennium, and named after a sign of the zodiac."