Heath stretched out on his bunk, letting the moment wash over him and savoring the taste of success after so much stress. This wasn’t his first Class evolution, yet that previous, hurried jump to becoming a Captain hardly seemed to count. That had been an inevitable consequence of his own personal tragedy, rather than something he had truly earned.

  This was different, a coming of age and an invitation to new heights all at once. The message was there, easy to read despite his closed eyes, yet he hesitated. At level 18, and having completed the well-known steps to become a Captain, there had been only one path, and an obvious one at that. With the accumulated argo of 50 levels in Heath’s Class, his own experiences and life would influence the options. Allegedly. Whatever the System had determined as right for him. Judgment just as much as reward.

  Delaying wouldn’t change things, and he mentally selected ‘Yes’. The gold on black design swirled, blurring and reforming into a list of three options. He skimmed the options, the obvious choice leaping out. Heath forced himself not to select immediately, even with such an obviously correct choice. You always read through every option the System presented. Walt had drilled very few advancement rules into Heath’s head, but that was one. Just like never deciding while tired, or reading System messages during a fight.

  In honor of his uncle, and common sense, Heath expanded the first of his three choices to read the explanation. Straightforward, didn’t mean it was bad.

  [Admiral: A Captain commands one ship, an Admiral seeks out a fleet. You have shown fluency with multiple crafts, and held onto command in a crisis. Embrace those abilities and draw power from the many Captains that will follow you. Emphasis and expanded options within the Leadership Tree.]

  A standard evolution from Captain, and Heath already knew he would ignore it. Not all Class evolutions were improvements, some were a sidestep onto a new path. He loved leading his crew, but he wasn’t looking for anything more. Nor could he imagine the Loon as a flagship of some empire of cargo haulers. Not for him. Besides, while it was still uncomfortable to admit, more of the same wasn’t what he was after, not anymore.

  The second option was one he had expected, but that didn’t make it easier to stomach.

  [Pirate Captain: A true Captain does what they have to, ignoring the taboos of a society that does not know what it means to struggle. New and expanded options within the Sailing Tree and Leadership Tree, Merchant Tree replaced with Rogue Tree.]

  It was, objectively, a strong Class. The preview Heath could see of the Skills were about what he expected, he would become more combat capable, more durable, and likely more profitable besides. And less welcome in every port in the Empire proper. Though he was sure he could continue to keep his Class readout saying Captain to avoid most of those problems.

  Heath couldn’t do it. Not just because of the stigma, though no one got Pirate as a Class Evolution without an actual act that could constitute piracy, but because of what it promised. Someone free from taboos, traditions, and the tapestry of spacer life. While he might give up on being a simple cargo hauler, some things he still clutched close.

  There. He had considered his options, Walt and his mom could both be proud of him. For completeness’s sake, he pulled up the description of the Class he was absolutely going to select.

  [Livingship Captain**: Push the boundaries of what it means to be a Captain, along with the capabilities of your Class and your Vessel. Select a single Vessel and receive a permanent upgrade to Ship Link. New Skill options will be made available.

  **This Class is unique.]

  There was not a moment between when Heath read the last word and when he selected his Class upgrade. The argo within his Class resonated, as if struck like a bell. His whole body went hot, then cold. That was all Heath had time to notice before he blacked out.

  In contrast to recent days, he woke up feeling great. His HUD revealed he had only been under a few minutes while his Class evolution took effect. Heath pulled up his status to make note of the changes.

  The smile that stretched across his face couldn’t be stopped, and would probably be visible from the ground if they were in orbit anywhere special.

  He wasted no time exploring his newly evolved [Ship Merge].

  [Ship Merge: Select one ship for which your feedback from this Skill will be improved. Higher levels allow better access and interfacing with target Vessel’s capabilities. Note that once selected, this cannot be changed. Target Livingship designated Wandering Loon?]

  As he selected one more ‘Yes’, he felt the connection from [Ship Link] deepen, the name on his status updating to [Ship Merge]. Even with just the initial change, Heath could feel it was more robust. The information that came across was enough to stress his Processing stat and he allocated a few of his banked points to alleviate the pressure, bringing his Reflexes and Magic up at the same time.

  With only a little prodding, Heath could instinctively tell what was going on within every system on the ship. More importantly, he could tell that the Loon had about five more seconds of patience before she started asking questions.

  “Evolution is perfect. Livingship Captain.Give me a minute.”

  There was more to his new Class than just a single Skill upgrade. Every one of his Skills felt stronger. The rest hadn’t been upgraded in the same way, but he could tell he would be getting more out of every drop of mana he spent on them. Even his passives felt stronger.

  He stretched his arms, he would need to go train later, or do something. The extra energy buzzing under his skin would make it impossible to concentrate on anything else until he did. It was not without a certain amount of chagrin he realized he sounded like some of his more meticulous crew members at the thought.

  But that would be after he finished exploring his new Class. There was one more section he needed to examine, and it would be the most exciting. New Skills. From a unique Class, no less.

  Next to where he usually visualized his Skill Trees was a new growth. Like the rest of his Class had blended together, they sat centrally and glowed with the kind of potential that normal Sailing Skills just couldn’t compete with.

  There were two. He waited with no small amount of anticipation for the nodes to solidify into Skill options. When they did, he tore through the descriptions.

  [Ship Recycling: Reclaim the fallen. From scrap metal to anchored argo crystals, you can reuse almost any material from vessels, even those that would not generally be salvageable. Higher levels increase yields. 3 points.]

  [Ship Storage: Gain a personalized quantum storage space, tailored to linked Vessel. 3 points.]

  Heath sighed. His good luck had run out. He didn’t yet have the three Skill points they would cost, so making a decision now was not necessary. Despite the obvious correct choice.

  Done he opened his eyes, signalling to the Loon he was ready to discuss. His quick recap was met with the expected enthusiasm.

  “Wonderful, and just as I suspected. I am honored to have our bond reflected in the very foundation of your Class.” Heath opened his mouth to start elaborating, but the Loon kept going. “I have news of a similar nature myself.”

  “Wait, what?” Heath sat up, despite not really needing to do so. But it felt wrong to hear important news lying down. “What news, what’s going on?”

  “I too have experienced an evolution of sorts. Behold.”

  The viewscreen embedded in his bunk wall flickered on, and the Loon’s status appeared. Heath noticed the formatting had changed somewhat to match his own.

  Most of it looked the same, measures of how much the Loon’s growth had added onto the embedded argo. Most, but not all.

  “What in the nine hells is a ship augment?”

  “I shall endeavour to translate my understanding into a format you would be familiar with.”

  As promised, the words on the screen winked out, replaced with a description.

  [Ship Augment: Attach one object of sufficient potential for a permanent, argo-absorbing upgrade. Note this may be beyond the standard enhancements available via crystalized argo within a ship core matrix.

  Slots used: 0/1]

  “What the…what does that mean? What is an object of sufficient potential?”

  “My own first question as well. I am unclear on the exact definitions, however my sensors do not detect anything which I feel would be suitable.”

  Heath groaned and flopped back down. “Is that like a dungeon reward or something else?”

  “I’m afraid no examples have been provided. If I may postulate, this will be something where we know it when we see it.”

  “Great, add that to the list. How are the others?”

  “Crewmember Ekaterina appears to be meditating still, Crewmember Emerald likewise is wrestling with their own System-fed changes, but the others have begun to rouse themselves. Crewmember Jenny Mae has started plotting courses”

  Heath nodded his understanding as he chewed on his lower lip. He would need to get in there soon and help. As exciting as Class Evolutions were to them personally, they didn’t erase the rest of their problems. Nor had Heath forgotten he had just been offered a Pirate Class. Whoever the owner of the Wraith was, and Heath had put in some effort not to find out, they wouldn’t be dropping the issue. Heath wouldn’t if it was up to him.

  They might one day be the kind of Classers that were strong enough to get away with something like that, but it was far away. And, he added internally as his conscience flared, he didn’t want to be the kind of person that was a Pirate when it was convenient.

  He needed a plan. And he knew just the women who would have some input. Not to mention the rest of the crew who would be happy enough to voice an opinion. At least he had some good news to share as well. If they were going to be on the run, a debate about ‘objects of sufficient potential’ would give them something to do.