AIN SOPH, Part 5

Episode 6

The Spidrons had been the most recent expansion pack released for the ever-expanding TAO Universe. Even though “Attack of the Spidrons” could only be uploaded from the TAO site, limited edition packaging was mailed to players homes. This included a decorative box, glossy poster, and a plastic map of the area of Universe encompassed by the Spidron Bio-Fleet. Not much equipment could be recovered from the Spidrons, but they were worth huge amounts of experience, and the Level Cap had been recently raised. This meant Mods would be tougher and faster, so Galvatron and other MERCs were looking to level-up quickly.

The Spidrons didn’t so much attack as pass through a star-field and consume everything they came across. Even the Space Hubs had been devoured, preventing PC’s from warping into that area of space. Rumor around the chatrooms was that no player could survive in the heart of the Spidron swarm more than a few seconds. Galvatron’s most recent campaigns had been testing that theory. StarScream had joined in several fleets. They would fly directly into the swarm, battling the smaller creatures, pushing in deeper until they could no longer recover Hit Points faster than they could sustain damage.

The TAO Fantasy world was almost as far across the Universe as could be reached. It would take hundreds of game hours, and StarScream said Lilly Katt was tired. Will had taken a nap that afternoon and discovered the pizza place in the gas station would deliver coffee as well as food, so he’d ordered a box. He’d been continually refilling the cup he kept on the warming tray that plugged into his USB drive. Will didn’t much like powdered cream, but discovered he could drink coffee for hours like this if he didn’t have to get up to go to the refrigerator. Galvatron gave Starscream a portable warp drive she could use to teleport to his location when she woke up.

Galvatron embarked on the journey, pressing on through deep space, avoiding the shipping lines where he would be easily recognized and attacked on sight. Will routed a course through the star-chart and set Galvatron on autopilot. If he was attacked, or stumbled into an asteroid belt, TAO would move to the main screen, but if not bothered, Galvatron could handle the trip alone.

Part 6