Light Speed Read online

  Contents

  Title

  Copyright Page

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Learn More

  The Present

  Chapter 1

  The Past

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  The Present

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Learn More

  Project Phoenix #2:

  Light Speed

  (A LitRPG Series)

  N.A.K. Baldron

  Copyright © 2017 N. A. K. Baldron

  All rights reserved.

  Published by Aconite Cafe 2017

  Austin, Texas, U.S.A. k12

  No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Under no circumstances may any part of this book be photocopied for resale.

  This is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.

  Acknowledgments

  I owe so much to my wonderful girlfriend Brandie. For her never ending support, and unwavering belief in me and my abilities. We’re taking this publishing journey together; one step at a time. Not only is she the first person to read my books, she’s also my editor. However, any errors that remain in the story are 100% my fault.

  About the Author

  Nicholi (N.A.K. Baldron) is an author and avid reader. He likes stories that take place in fictional worlds, with memorable characters.

  He spends his days debating between whether it’s coffee or tea time, and pecking away at his keyboard to produce stories for his readers. He can be found strolling though one of the many wooded areas in the small town outside of Austin, Texas that he calls home.

  If he could have any power, it would be the power to control time; then he could freeze it and find enough reading time. One of his deepest regrets in life, is knowing he’ll never get around to reading all the books on his to be read list.

  Knowing how precious reading time is, he’s always honored when his readers choose to spend their time on his stories.

  His current series are:

  Aether Walker

  Game Changer

  Queen’s Gambit

  Project Phoenix

  #1 Jacked In

  #2 Light Speed

  You can find Nicholi on Facebook, Twitter, and his Blog.

  Learn More

  Less than 1% of all readers will leave a review. Please take the time to leave a review, I can’t thank you enough for sharing your thoughts. Reviews help fellow readers like yourself decide if they should give the book a chance, and I rely on the feedback to grow as an author.

  To learn more about Project Phoenix and Jack’s adventures singup to N.A.K. Baldron’s newsletter here, or visit his webstie to signup www.nakbaldron.com.

  The Present

  Chapter 1

  Project Phoenix Day 2038-10-09-19

  Jack’s ship appeared little more than a shuttle pod comapred to the more advanced ships next to his. Instead of the station giving him a loading zone of his own, he’d been ordered to land on the highlighter-yellow line between zones 108 and 109. He’d nesseled his ship between what looked like two skyscrapers laid on their sides. Typically, micro class ships were found in the asteroid belt, and traveled between the [Mars Colony] and [Space Station: Jupiter]. There was good money to be made in mining ore in the belt, and shipping cargo between to the two bases.

  Far out in the solar system in the Kuiper Belt, where Jack found himself, the distance between objects was astronomical. A journey between [Space Station: Kuiper Alpha] and [Space Station: Jupiter], the closest other base, would take Jack months unless he refueled and fixed his engines.

  “Fuck! Two hits on my head, and a busted ship I owe a small fortune on.” Jack thought.

  “Alfred, what’s the current price on my head?”

  “Checking, sir.” A second later, “¥5,820, sir.”

  Lucy was more than pissed, she was down right homocidal. Jack had never seen a bounty above 6,000 yuan. Hell, the team had pulled one off before he and Lucy had their falling out.

  “Aflred, what’s the bounty on the person who kills me?”

  “Checking sir. ¥36,000, sir.”

  “Holly fuck!”

  That was more than his apartment cost, or at least use to cost. Jack began to wonder about his life before Project Phoenix, it seemed so long ago. He’d only been playing for 4 days, but in game time that meant over three months. Even though he only played 10 hours a day, it felt like over a month to him.

  There were no other optiosn. He’d have to fix his ship and double down on finding excellent loot the next time to went out.

  “Alfred, what’s my account balance?”

  Personal Account - ¥1,518

  “Estemated cost to repair my ship?”

  “¥1,027, sir.”

  “Alfred, what’s the current price of hydrogen?”

  “¥6, sir.”

  Jack did the math in his head to figure out how much he could afford versus how much he needed to for another roundtrip through a rift.

  “Alfred, buy 60 kilograms of hydrogen and order a crew to repair my ship.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “What’s that old saying?” Jacked thought, “Sometime you’ve got to roll a hard six.”

  The Past

  Chapter 2

  October 5th, 2038

  Jack reached for the helmet on his head, or he tried. The signal left his brain, ‘lift arms’, but body wouldn’t respond.

  “Apirl?” His voice came out rough and slured. It sounded almost like he’d been drinking.

  “Relax.” April’s voice comforted him, and she undid the back of his helmet.

  The helmet slipped off and the lights of the room were blinding.

  “It’s okay,” she siad. “You were in for a little over three hours. If you hadn’t come out I was going to bring you out. It’s recomended that you only play for two hours a day, but you can work your way up to eight or ten no problem.”

  Jack heard her speak, but it was slowed down and echoed. “I want to sleep.”

  He may have only been in the game for a few hours, but to Jack it felt like he’d just pulled a 48 hour shift like he use to in college. Back then he could stay up two or even three days straight during finals to cram it all in and pass his exams. He was only 26, but the past 5 years had taken their toll on him. He might not be old, but he wasn’t young either. Coffee had become a requirement to function, rather than a pick me up.

  “Okay,” she said. “I’ll take you to your room.”

  She took his hands and pulled him out of the chair. He stumbeled the frist few steps, but his legs caught up to his brain by time they reached the stairs. Jack didn’t look around the house as he walked; his eyes were still sensative to the light. He kept a frim grip on the banister as they assended the stiarcase.

  April closed the currents for him in his room, and the lights were on a dimmer that she set to its lowest setting. Jack collapsed onto the bed, not bothering to take off his
clothes, but he did kick of his shoes.

  “The door’s locked from the outside. Your bathroom is through that door.” She pointed to a door on the other side of the room, next to the grassy medow on the VR display.

  “Goodnight.”

  There was no respons from Jack. While he’d heard her, he was already half way asleep.

  That night he dreamed he was floating in a sea of stars, surrounded by spacedust that simmered in the cololrs of the rainbow. It was almost like there was an oilspill in space, but beautiful. k'12

  Chapter 3

  October 6th, 2038

  Crack! Jack’s head hit the floor, missing the corner of the nightstand by an inch. It had been years since he fell out of a bed, but there he was laying on the group wtih his cheek pressed against the charcol colored carpet. He saw there was nothing under the bed through the inch gap between the dustruffel and the floor. Shifting his weight to one side, he pushed himself up into a sitting postion, and streched his neck and shoulder. The stiffness of the fall would stay with him all day.

  Hunger ravaged Jack’s stomach, and the pain in his neck was quickly forgotten as the pain in his gut took over. He’d never expereinced such hunger in his life. With another roll of his neck to get the last crinks out, he pulled himself up with the help of the bed. He tried to leave the room but his door was locked, so he deicded to take his morning piss first.

  The bathroom was baren. There was single sink, toilet, and walk in shower, but no towel, toilet paper, or soap. It looked as if no one had ever used the bathroom before. After Jack shook off, he used the sink to wash his hands and face the best he could without soap.

  “How long am I going to be their prisoner?” He thought.

  A knock came from the room, and then the sound of the door opening.

  “Hello?” April’s voice eccoed through the room and into the bathroom. “Jack?”

  He shook his hands off as he walked back to the room. “Hi.”

  She had all the toiletries in her hands, that had been missing.

  “I realized last night after you went to bed, that you might need these.”

  Jack took them from her with a smile. “Thank you.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes!” He through the toiletires on the bed and jestrued for her to lead the way.

  “We’ll have a quick breakfast and then you need to get back in.”

  “Okay.”

  “What time is it?”

  She pulled out her phone and showed him the screen: 08:17.

  Jack didn’t care about Project Phoenix at the moment. All he wanted was bacon and french toast, and maybe a tall glass of orange juice. The game had been a blast, but it had been over 16 hours since he last ate, and he was in no condition to continue until he had food.

  They took the stiars together and went back into the basement, where the kitchenet had been prepared with eggs, toast, sausages, milk, coffee, and even orange juice. Jack wouldn’t spend the time and effort to make french toast, but he’d fry himself up some sausage and eggs.

  The orange juice was exactly what he needed. He hadn’t realized it until he was half way through his galss of OJ, but he had a hang over. It wasn’t that bad becuase he’d slept for so long, but there was no doubt that the game had left him with a hang over. Jack hadn’t had one since he was in college, so it took him a little while to reconize what was wrong, but a hang over explained it.

  “I feel like I have a hang over. Is that normal?”

  “Yes.” April took another sip of her coffee. She sat behind the control pannel for the chair and VR interface, while Jack stood over the kitchenet preparing his eggs and sausage.

  “That’s one reason it’s recomended to limit your game play to only a few hours a day. However, you’ll be able to build up your endurance and play for longer and longer periods.”

  “Why? I mean what causes a hang over?”

  “Lack of dopamine and stimulation. When you’re in the game your brain lights up like a christmas tree. The only thing that comes clsoe to that level of stimulation outside of the game is heroine.”

  Jack slid his fried eggs, and sausage out of their pans and onto the plate. “Isn’t it dangerous then.”

  “No. It’s completely safe. That’s why I have this setup. To monitor your vitals and if need be, pull you out.”

  Jack nodded along becuase his mouth was full. He used the last of the glass of OJ to wash it down. “How long do I have to do this?”

  “Until I get what I need.”

  “And what is that?”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll let you know what you need to know. Until then, you just focus on the game and building up your holdings.”

  “See I don’t really get the point of the game. I was with a group and we stole some ore, which earned us a lot of yuan, but after they logged off I didn’t know what to do so I spent my yuan on a room. Also, the game requires me to eat and drink. It’s weird.”

  “That’s all part of simulating reality.”

  “Eventually I found some other jobs, but most groups wanted nothing to do with me, becuase I’m a noob.”

  She leaned back in her chair lifting her arms behind her head, and returned to her sitting postion. “Okay, here’s a simple guide. Find great gear, earn as much yuan as you can, and then buy a ship.”

  “What kind of ship?”

  “Any kind you want. It’s your game. The point is for you to build your own enterprise inside the game. Do anything you like, just focus on making yuan. It’s the key to your future. I’ll tell you more once you’ve got a ship.”

  “Okay.”

  “Ready?”

  Jack took his last bite. “I just need a cup of coffee first.”

  “Drink it fast. I’m going to use the ladies room and I’ll be back.”

  She walked into the bathroom while Jack poured a cup of coffee. The first sip was devine. The food had been good, but the coffee was exceptional.

  All things considred, Jack wasn’t that bad off. Yes he was a prisioner. But he was a prisioner that got to play video games all day. He knew there were thousands of people who’d kill to be where he was.

  April retutned and asked, “Are you ready now?”

  Jack took two more quick sips of his coffee. “Okay.”

  She helped him get into the chair and used a button to return him to the exact postion he’d been in yesterday.

  “Is that still comfortable?” she asked, and handed him the remote to adjust the seat if he needed, but he didn’t.

  “Yes.”

  She slid the helment on his head, and he was plunged into darkness.

  Her vocie was a tab muffeled, “Go ahead and activate Project Phoenix.”

  “Activate Project Phoenix.”

  Chapter 4

  Project Phoenix Day 2038-10-06-15

  Alfred’s voice came through Jack’s headset. “Welcome back, sir.”

  “Thank you, Aflred.”

  Jack was laying in a tiny pod about twice the size of cofin. On the 5th level of the station a few entreprenueal players had created micro apartments for players who needed a place to store their bodies while they logged off. One of the unique charactrisitcs of Project Phoenix, was that even though players left the game, their avatars didn’t. This had created whole industries around security and protection. No other game Jack knew of, required players to think of their safety while they were offline.

  The pod was bearly enough room to roll over, Jack couldn’t even sit up. He’d crawled in feet first after using a ladder to get in. His pod was the sixth from the floor and last in the stack. He pressed a button insdie his pod, the hatch slid over, and a ladder rolled to his pod.

  The problem was, since Jack had crawled in feet first, he had no way of crawling out aside from rolling onto his stomach and taking the ladder arms frist. He nearly fell off when his feet were fully out of the pod, but he managed to make it down without breaking his neck.

  “Next time I need to go in
head frist.” Jack thought

  “I’ll set a reminder, sir.”

  Jack couldn’t help himself and laughed. There was no way he’d forget, but it was nice to know that Alfred had his back.

  The room jack stood in looked like a morge with rows of pods on both sides. Each identical aside from the labels. Jack’s pod was C1, and sat int he middle of a section that was six pods high and six pods wide. The section on the other side of the room was setup the exact same, but started with G1 in the top right and went to L6 in the bottom left.

  A private room would have allowed for personal storage and better security, but Jack didn’t think it predent to spend all his yuan on a room. Private rooms started at ¥1,273 per Project Phoenix day, or ¥30,552 per real world day. His pod was only ¥68, and he didn’t have to rent it while he played, only when he crawled in to log off.

  “Alfred, what’s my account balance?”

  Personal Account - ¥4,575

  He’d picked up two jobs after Lucy and her team left, but they’d paid nothing by comparison, and the groups hadn’t allowed Jack to take any of the gear that dropped. He was a noob in all the players eyes. Apparently he was suppose to start off on the [Earth Replica] or [Mars Colony], maybe even as far out as the [Space Station: Jupiter], but by starting on [Space Station: Kuiper Alpha] he;d screwed himself. More spicifically, the game had screwed him by even offering to start him there.

  When players died they lost everything, aside from their bank accounts. Which meant if a player died, but had an account on [Space Station: Kuiper Alpha], they would at least start over with their yuan intact. In the original design players would have to start over on [Space Station: Jupiter] and work their way out to [Space Station: Kuiper Alpha]. Many players would keep a spare account on [Space Station: Jupiter] with enough yuan to buy basic gear and a transportation ticket to [Space Station: Kuiper Alpha]. A sort of insurance policy. However, after months of complaints the game designers add [Space Station: Kuiper Alpha] as a starting point.