Destiny Among the Stars - Scifi - LitRPG - Adventure

The first few kilometers passed easily enough, the ground firm beneath the Peregrine's tires. Everyone was quiet, lost in their own thoughts. Ryan occasionally tapped on his tablet, cross-referencing their satellite images with what little geological data they had. Emily sat next to Luca, her hands resting lightly on her lap, glancing out at the passing scenery.

But the terrain got rougher the farther they went. Rolling hills turned into jagged outcroppings of rock that jutted out of the soil. The Peregrine bounced hard as Luca maneuvered through a narrow valley, the suspension groaning under the strain. He swore under his breath, gripping the wheel tighter as they climbed a steep incline. "Could've warned me about the hill," he muttered, glancing over at Ryan.

"The elevation change is in the computer," Ryan replied.

"Right," Luca grumbled, tense from the expectation of what they would find. "Next time, underline it."

The vehicle lurched as they splashed through a shallow stream, the water spraying up against the hull.

"Are we going to discuss how this planet is surprisingly bio-compatible with Earth?" Joey asked from his seat.

"What do you mean?" Zoe asked.

"What he means, Zoe," Danny said. "Is that this planet doesn't make any sense. For all intents and purposes, it's too compatible with us. We can breathe the air, we can eat the plants and animals, hell, even the gravity is similar, and it's like the next system over from Sol."

"You know what I think?" Luca said. "It's probably part of the whole system bullshit, like the Oort cloud, or the Genesis platform. The system is pushing, shoving us even, to expand outside the solar system."

"But why?" said Emily. "It doesn't even drop decent gear anymore. Back in the early days, you'd be swimming in energy rifles. Now you're lucky to find a Vanguard piece once every ten portals."

Chris snorted from his seat. "Beats relying on that corporate-made junk we used to have. At least this System gear doesn't fry itself when you look at it wrong. The Triumph Initiative philosophy is solid… purists get results."

Luca nodded, gripping the wheel. "Reliable. Consistent. And that +2 attribute bonus for a full set doesn't hurt. Still, Emily's right. The good stuff is getting harder to find. Hope this portal is different."

When they finally emerged on the other side, the ground leveled out into a wide, barren plain. In the distance, a faint shimmer hung in the air, like heat rising from asphalt on a summer day. The portal.

Luca stopped the Peregrine, letting the engine idle. "There it is," he said, his voice low, trying to ignore the knot of anticipation in his stomach.

Once they stopped, he shifted the Peregrine into Outpost mode. The vehicle transformed, deploying sensors and stabilizers. Ryan flicked on the automated turret. This was it. An honest-to-goodness portal, where mobs would spawn from.

No one said a word as they all suited up, the quiet clicks of armor locks and the hum of weapons powering on breaking the silence. It was like gearing up for a big boss fight, except they had no idea what they were facing. And honestly, Luca was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

Luca looked over to Joey first. Their healer. Their Field Medic. The guy who kept their dumb asses alive.

His armor? Rhea Vanguard Heavy Powered Armor. Full set: helmet, chest, arm guards, gloves, boots. Once he suited up and activated it, the pieces locked together, granting him full protection and forming a reinforced exoskeleton that gave him superhuman strength.

Cool as hell. Also loud as fuck. And massive.

But Joey preferred it that way.

The heavy plating let him charge through danger, grab any of them, and haul their broken bodies to safety. And the Vanguard class? That meant extra buffs to defense, energy efficiency, and ability duration.

Best part? The Taunt ability.

When he activated it, the armor pulsed with an energy signal, grabbing enemy attention like a goddamn beacon. Didn't always work, but when it did? It worked wonders...

Joey's main weapon was his level 54 Hyperion Truestrike Energy Blaster.

System-named, obviously, Hyperion, like one of the moons of Saturn, everyone knew that. Some of the best portals in Sol. Truestrike meant better aim, integrated compensators, stabilizers, the whole deal.

Then there was his Level 54 Rapidcore Energy Shield. The thing could take a beating from both ballistic and energy weapons, but its real trick? It could expand into a full protective bubble. Perfect for when Joey needed to patch someone up mid-fight without getting torn to shreds. The weapons didn't really have levels, but they were usually associated with the portal levels in which they were found.

He always had his medical kit, sprays, foams, stimulants, the works.

Back in Sol, having a medic wasn't always a necessity. As long as you could make it out of a portal, the support network was there, medical bays, healing pods, IFC medics.

But out here? There were no hospitals, no backup, and no safety net.

They needed Joey. More than ever.

He would need at minimum four energy cells, one for his armored suit, one for his shield, another for his energy blaster, and, if possible, one for his medical scanner. Ideally, he should have five, since the Taunt ability would deplete his armored suit's energy the more he used it.

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Chris and his bulging muscles.

His path? Suppressor. Basically, high DPS, laying down suppressive fire, and wrecking anything big enough to be a problem.

Unlike Joey, he wasn't lumbering around as a walking tank. He wore the Tethys Amplify Medium Armor, sleek, mobile, and just enough protection to keep him in the fight without slowing him down.

Same basic setup, five-piece set with a visor, pouches, and mods, but no powered exoskeleton. Just armor.

That meant he, Ryan, and Emily were quieter, faster, and more flexible.

Its special ability? Power Surge. The armor could sync with most energy weapons, using its energy cells to supercharge a shot.

Sounded badass, and it was, until his gun overheated and became a useless hunk of metal. Still, these were the last TL8 variations from Sol; therefore, they were top-of-the-line and reliable.

His weapon of choice? The Ganymede Helix Devastator Energy Driver. A charge-based energy rifle that amps up its damage the longer the trigger is held. Devastator? That meant it was optimized to unleash the pain train.

When fired, it released a spiraling energy beam with high penetration and precision focus. Ideal for melting through armor and tearing into heavy targets. The longer he held the trigger, the more potent the beam and the faster it would drain its energy reserves.

The Tethys Amplify Medium Armor synced almost seamlessly with it, letting him overcharge shots without frying the rifle as long as he didn't hold the trigger too long.

Chris and Joey were the newest members of the crew, but they weren't rookies. They'd had their own team back in Sol, that is, until they stopped delving. Now? They were with them. Luca thought it was probably the best decision they ever made, considering where they were all headed.

Chris would need at least three energy cells, one for his armored suit and two for his weapon.

Next was Danny.

Another Rhea Vanguard Heavy Powered Armor user, meaning he was a walking tank with Taunt as an active ability, same as Joey. But unlike Joey, he didn't carry a shield or med kit.

His combat path? Crusher. And Danny? He brought a goddamn Devastator Energy Warhammer.

A twice-upgraded monster of a weapon he'd traded on their first trip to the Moon Base from a group of cute German girls.

Danny never talked about them much, but sometimes, when he thought nobody was watching, he'd run his thumb over the Warhammer's grip like he was remembering something. The trade had been straightforward enough. But Luca remembered that night at the moon base, sharing pizza at 2 AM in the common room, the four German girls practicing their broken English while they had tried to impress them with stories that probably weren't half as interesting as they'd thought.

He remembered how one of them had carved a tiny heart into the grip with her energy dagger before handing it over, her cheeks flushed as she mumbled something in German that made Danny grin like an idiot.

Sometimes Luca wondered if Danny kept the hammer not just for its devastating power, but because it was the only thing he had left from that night when everything had seemed possible.

That hammer was absurdly heavy and stupidly destructive. Every swing hit with a concussive energy field, turning it into a shockwave of devastation. Bludgeoning damage on steroids.

While most energy rifles and standard weapons were System drops across Earth, some weapons, like Luca's Tomahawk, were regional.

The Warhammer? That was a Bavarian regional weapon, supposedly based on the Teutonic Warhammers from ye olde knight-smashing times. It was big, brutal, and designed to crush armor like tin foil. Danny was obsessed with it.

Paired with his powered armor, it turned him into a wrecking ball, devastating against heavy targets, fortifications, or anything dumb enough to stand in his way.

The only problem? He had to get there first. And yeah, he was a tank, but he wasn't a sprinter. Still, at least he could take the heat, literally and figuratively.

Danny would need at minimum two energy cells, but three would be better, so he could use his Taunt and direct damage his way.

Then there was Ryan. A show-off first, a terrible shot second. Which was hilarious, considering he was a Combat Engineer, a guy loaded with firepower but somehow always managing to miss the easy shots.

But Ryan made up for it with his Oberon Devastator Energy Scattergun, which, in plain English, was a... shotgun. A long-range scattergun that fired a wide cone of energy bolts, giving him the best chance of hitting something, anything, in front of him. At least he could adjust the spread, and yeah, he usually shot in the right direction.

Not that Ryan relied on his gun alone. That wasn't his job. He was here to control the fight, lock down the battlefield, and funnel enemies into kill zones. Between his Tethys Medium Armor and Power Surge ability, he was as much about shaping the fight as he was about surviving it. That was because of his gear, because Ryan wouldn't be Ryan without a backpack full of explosives and other gadgets.

Slung across his back was his deployable turret, the heavy-duty kind that chewed through energy cells like a starship at full burn. He carried it like it was no big deal, probably because he was too stubborn to admit it was slowing him down. The damn thing was bulky as hell, but once it was set up? It provided automated suppressive fire, locking down lanes and cutting off enemy flanks.

Then there were the grenades. Because Ryan? He never went anywhere without enough firepower to level a small building.

Four of the stunner grenades hung from his belt, ready to blind and disorient anything dumb enough to get in his way. Inferno Gel Grenades, two of them, filled with sticky, napalm-like gel that clung to anything it touched and burned like hell. And if that wasn't enough, he had Shardburst Grenades, which were just shrapnel bombs designed to tear through anything with flesh.

Let's not forget the tank mines. Two heavy-duty pressure mines, meant for vehicles or something big enough to ruin their day. He had them strapped to the side of his armor, looking like the world's most unstable fashion statement.

Ryan, of course, always had his Arcwave Disruptor, because just shooting wasn't enough for him.

The device was barely bigger than his palm, strapped to his arm. To use it, he had to slide it forward like a goddamn Ghostbusters trap. It would skid across the ground, lock into place, and release a charged pulse, an electric shockwave that fried biological nervous systems, locking up muscles and causing temporary paralysis, along with other fun side effects.

The range was garbage, but for close combat and zone control? It was perfect. The catch? He had to be right up in their faces to use it effectively, which was either stupid or ballsy as hell.

Finally, because he wasn't completely stupid, he carried an armor repair kit, complete with a compact welder to patch up damage on the go.

Because Ryan burned through energy like an idiot, he had an energy cell recharger strapped to his hip with a D-Type energy cell, letting him restore up to four energy cells in an hour, unless they failed, which they did.

At first, they thought it was a great idea. Extra energy, easy reloads, what's not to love?

Then Ryan started collecting shit.

The deployable turret? A bottomless pit for power cells.

The Arcwave Disruptor? Drained faster than Ryan's patience in a strategy meeting.

The armor repair kit? It was cheaper to hope for an armor loot drop than to repair the damn things.

What was supposed to be a boon for the team had turned into Ryan's own personal life support system. They weren't even sure if the recharger was helping them anymore, or just barely keeping his dumb ass operational.

All in all? Ryan was a walking supply depot with a bad attitude. He wasn't precise, but precision wasn't his job. His job was to make a fight as miserable as possible for everything in front of them.

Ryan would need at a minimum four energy cells, one for his armor, his weapon, the arcweave disruptor, and the repair kit. If Luca could convince him to leave the Energy Turret, that is.