Imposter System

Although everyone was saying scornful words about the uncultured nature of two grown men fighting at a party, they couldn't keep their eyes away. On this ship, the value of entertainment was exceptionally high. This was more-so the case for those that lived on the first deck. Although there was a gigantic database that stored shows from the last three hundred years, there was nothing to watch. Matt found this especially ironic that the problem from his era only became worse over time.

Instead, people were more receptive to live shows. Those of a particular status tended to enjoy the brutal and violent type of entertainment more than other forms. It was amazing to see how culture regressed. The skirmishes were an extremely popular event on the ship for a good reason. This fight, however, lacked a level of skill that professional fighting had. However, it made up for it in brutality. The two men had no holds barred.

Matt focused on the area around him and noticed that Alexis's power was changing. Rather, she seemed to become more efficient at using it and was simply unlocking its full potential. Instead of a wide spread of influence, she was able to carefully affect specific people. A small stream of mental energy occasionally flowed out and puffed into the face of various people in the party. Matt looked carefully and recognized all of the targets from the documents Alexis showed him.

{You instigated a fight to distract people so you could put your influence over them?} Matt thought.

{Tch, you're no fun. I wanted to surprise you.} Although she seemed upset from her thought, Matt could tell from her genuine smile that she was proud of herself. It was probably difficult for her when she discovered the truth. Being able to take an active role in their survival was a fantastic development.

{What are you doing to them?} He wondered. Although they marked the various officials before the party, they didn't exactly discuss the details of how to utilize them.

{I found out that my ability is capable of changing someone's emotional reaction to certain stimuli. By adjusting their perceptions of us to that of close family, they would subconsciously treat us more favorably.} Alexis sounded very confident in her explanation, so she must have become enlightened to her ability like how Matt did instinctually.

{Then what did you do to those two?} He was really curious now.

{Uh, actually, I didn't do much. I remembered that these two had some conflict in the past, I just made some unrelated comments and they overreacted.}

She put her hand over her mouth to hold back her laughter. However, Matt wouldn't buy it. He saw the viciousness in her eyes and knew that she must have done more than what she said. But it didn't matter, he was even slightly proud to see that bit of darkness in her. It made him feel less guilty for the things he had done.

"Alright, that's enough. Vega, Bison, save your energy for the event tonight. I'll put you on separate teams." The captain had finally come over and broken apart the crowd. He let them fight originally because he knew the thoughts of the people. However, when he saw blood, he didn't want anything to get stained so he stepped in.

The crowd dispersed, but they were full of energy. There was still an hour left of the reception, but people were already discussing the laser tag event. After the fight, the three targets Alexis had been working on walked over as if they were seeing their family for the first time in years. With a few handshakes that became hugs, Matt was quickly a favorite for the three influential men.

"It's good that you're treating Alexis well. My idiot son back home has too much money and not enough brains. I had too many grand-children to choose from so I ran away on this mission. I bet he's suffering now!" Harry Schuman said. The other two nodded in agreement.

"I understand, back home, my youngest developed the habit of seducing her older brothers' partners. At least she's brilliant enough to take over my legacy so that I could fulfill my childish dream of exploring the stars." Ted Rose lamented.

"You two sure have had it hard. This is why I don't have any children." Ronald Hagan said matter-of-factly but the other two looked at him with doubt.

"Is that why? I heard even the AI couldn't find a partner for you on this ship. The results of the algorithm were what again…? Inco—"

"Alright, enough about us, this is the young couple's day." Ronald quickly cut him off. The other two were silently laughing while Matt and Alexis couldn't get over the trio's attitude. Alexis was surprised just how effective her ability was. However, unlike Matt's hypnosis, the emotional attachment they felt right now could easily be erased.

[Hypnosis Activated]

"Meeting the old admiral today was quite amazing. I didn't know he was on this mission. But I wonder, why we haven't heard anything from him earlier?" Matt said after giving each of them a quick stare down. One thing he discovered from the recently leveled hypnosis, is that he only needed to have made eye contact within a short time frame. This allowed him to affect more than one person per statement.

Of course, earlier, he made sure to make full use of his mesmerism ability while they were shaking hands and hugging. The effect was quite strong. The three looked at each other and their expressions changed from jovial to serious. Ronald looked over his shoulder and then turned back. He spoke in a low voice that only the group could hear.

"This is a power play by the big shots back on Earth. They must have suspected us who boarded the mission with money instead of merits. Nonsense I say! If funding a large portion of this mission isn't a merit, then I don't know what is."

"You see, in order to make the position more appealing, our group of ten was given the permissions to be part of the council if the AI ever malfunctioned. However, there is a loophole that an admiral can veto any decisions made by the council. We originally thought this was only relevant while in range of Earth, but who knew such a hidden card was on the ship?" Harry said coldly.

"Well, even without the admiral's existence, the ten of us are not united. I don't think this is that big of a deal honestly. What could possibly happen that would require the council to form?" Ted said with a shrug. Matt's eye twitched slightly and Alexis cleared her throat since she was taking a sip of water when he said that. Did he want the job of flag hoister?

Matt and Alexis tried to get more information out of the trio, but there wasn't anything else very useful from them. They described the inner workings of the potential council members but most of it wasn't helpful. Surprisingly though, Alexis was the first substitute for one of the positions on the council. This was a surprise to the couple. Although her rank and status were high, she didn't realize they were that high.

The couple looked at each other and didn't even need telepathy to know they were thinking the exact same thing. The AI already had problems, so the council would inevitably be formed. The only thing they needed to do was remove one of the members. Fortunately, the trio had divulged the whole group. It was composed of twenty-four members with very high status. A murderous gleam flashed passed their eyes as they formulated their ideas for the future.

Ting, ting, ting

The sound of a glass being tapped on echoed through the room. The music was turned off and the captain began to address everyone.

"The reception is coming to a close. Thank you all for coming and enjoying our food and each other's company. Now, please follow us to the first military bay where we have set up an intricate field for some proper entertainment. The details of the event along with which team you are on has been sent to your device. There is a small twist that I hope you enjoy."

As the group shuffled out of the room, they followed two robots. They were led to a large lift and taken to the first military bay. Once they entered, they went directly to the changing area to put on the special equipment. Matt was in the same team as Alexis. Fortunately, the captain wasn't so cruel to separate them. However, Matt realized right away that he underestimated the captain.

'Greeting's soldier, you are participating in the mock battle on team alpha this evening. Congratulations! The vests will adjust to your physical fitness to ensure a fair contest of skill. The guns are specially modified for this event and will not cause any harm. One more thing, your role in this event is the secret spy of team omega. Your job is to take out the spy on the other team without taking out anyone else. You can be eliminated by either teams' players! – captain Stark'

'Fuck, why am I the imposter again?' Matt cursed.