“It seems hypocritical to call me a drunk, narhat,” the officer scoffed.
The professor flicked the hair out of his face as he got up to return to the bar. “At least I have the decency to pace myself.”
“I’m a giant, remember? One bottle at a time is pacing myself,” he joked, polishing off the bottle.
“Why would you have the droid’s file in your possession, Officer Wulfson? And how did it get into the test?” Sasha asked.
Wulfson placed his legs on the table top and leaned back in his chair. “It was part of the deal I struck with that long-haired idiot with the silver spoon shoved up his ass. I was going to use it for personal training to see how well I fared. Never got the chance before I got a request from the head monitor for any potential ideas for implementation in the Soldier’s test.”
“They asked for your help? Guess they didn’t have a room full of monkeys and typewriters, so they settled on one gorilla with an Animus directory,” Laurie jeered, rinsing his glass.
“You gave them access to this…Galactic War Droid?” Sasha guessed, folding his arms.
Wulfson stretched before folding his arms behind his head “I gave them the option to use it. I said it came from my personal files, that I got Laurie to whip me up a few killer robots for me to test my mettle.”
“At least you know how to cover your big ass.” Laurie snickered, pouring some wine into a glass.
“Too much of that stuff will kill you, Laurie—or, at least, running your mouth under its effects will.” The giant sneered.
“They haven’t used it before now. I wonder if no one simply came across it or if there’s another reason.” Sasha spoke his thoughts aloud.
“The head monitor said that they probably wouldn’t use it—too much for first-years. Maybe this batch is doing so well that they decided to…how would you say it? Give them a bonus level?”
“That or add another obstacle,” Laurie suggested, taking his seat once again. “It has been a while since a Devil Bird was taken down during a test, and certainly never by one initiate.”
“Perhaps…” Sasha continued to watch the initiates run through the forest, the giant machine barreling after them. “But are they testing the whole group?”
Marlo fired another fully charged shot at the head of the machine. It connected, knocking it to the side for a moment before a turret on its side activated. It aimed in his direction and fired a cascade of plasma bolts his way.
He dove to the side as Silas brought out a grenade launcher and shot a thermal at the turret, destroying its base and sending the gun tumbling down the side.
“Thanks for that, buddy,” Marlo called.
“Thank me when we get the hell out of here,” Silas yelled back. “We need to move.”
He helped the demolisher up, and they went deeper into the jungle as the machine began charging another powered shot from its main cannon. A beam tore through the forest, obliterating anything in its path.
“This is bullshit,” Cameron screamed, firing at the massive body of the machine, only for his shots to be absorbed by a barrier.
“Energy projectiles ain’t gonna do shit to the body. Go for the head,” Jaxon ordered.
“Nobody but the heavies have anything that can scratch that thing,” Flynn yelled, using his sniper to take out the small guns on the side of the massive droid.
“How come his shots are getting through?” Cameron complained.
“I’m firing metal rounds. The barrier doesn’t protect against those,” Flynn answered.
Cameron leaped away from turret fire, looking over to the group after he landed. “That’s stupid. Who would design a barrier that way?”
“It’s a holobarrier—less strain on the power core while still giving it good defense,” Izzy explained.
“That means we can— Oh, hell. Luke, get back,” Jaxon shouted to the titan, who hammered away at the underside of the machine. He clearly hadn’t seen one of its legs raising over him, blocking the light.
As he looked up, the leg came down, smashing him into the ground. His body disappeared.
“Stim Ray won’t fix that…” Amber winced.
“Damn, how many are we down to?” Raul asked.
“Well, those of us around that Kaiden guy seem mostly intact. Some of the others who weren’t fried by the laser joined in along with a few who came in the aftermath.” Silas took position with Marlo and fired another grenade.
“Unless we get a hell of a lot of heavies firing at the head all at once, I doubt it will do much good,” Flynn stated grimly.
Jaxon fired a few more rounds before lowering his weapon. “Best chance is to actually get on that thing and try to destroy the core.”
“I’m guessing you’ve yet to take a course in team morale, Ace,” Izzy jeered. “Or at least coming up with a plan that seems plausible?”
“Not a lot of choice,” Raul muttered. “We could all die, but this thing is between us and the end zone. We’re either going to have to take it down or find a way to get by it.”
“Guess we’ll see who the fastest sprinter is pretty soon,” Cameron muttered.
“Well, that’s bullshit.” Marlo groaned.
“Wait, speaking of Kaiden, where the hell is he?” Flynn asked.
Kaiden blinked for a moment before lifting himself to his feet. He looked around as he felt the ground shake but didn’t see any of the soldiers or the giant droid.
“What happened, Chief?” he asked, rubbing the side of his head.
“Ya got blown into next freakin’ Tuesday is what happened,” the EI snarked.
“I died?”
“No. Almost, but you leaped out of the immediate blast radius and your body sailed way the hell over here. The fighting is about four hundred yards to the south-east.”
Kaiden hissed as he tried to take a step. “My body feels like it’s gone through a meat grinder. I could really use that blue stuff right about now.”
“I’m starting to think you’ve got a problem.”
“I can quit any time I want…right after the next hit…” Kaiden slumped over, holding himself up against the trunk of a tree.
“You got that health injection from that lockbox. I would recommend using it.”
“Good call.” Kaiden reached into his supply pouch, removed the syringe, and looked at his arm. His gauntlets were mostly destroyed, and most of his flesh was seared or torn. He stabbed the needle into his flesh and pressed the plunger down, feeling the effects almost instantly as his strength returned and the pain dulled.
“Won’t fix the armor, but at least you’ll have a little hop to your step.”
“It’ll do for now,” Kaiden said. He looked around and saw a device in the distance. “What’s that?”
“Touch it and see.”
“That’s a phrase that usually indicates nothing good will come of this,” he muttered and walked over to the device, an orb floating over some sort of base. Tentatively, he placed his hand on it, and it glowed green. His display lit up.
Checkpoint Reached.
“At least we don’t have to worry about getting shot back to the beach.”
“I could use a day at one after all this,” he decided. Another tremor rippled, and Kaiden turned back to see a flash and an explosion in the distance.
His short-term memory kicked back in. He remembered seeing a giant machine, the head long and curved with some sort of glowing device in the center that projected the power laser. It stood on four massive legs, a white metallic body with an oval design and ports holding turrets, plasma cannons, and rocket launchers. One of which had launched right at him, he recalled, knocking him away.
“Good thing you got that battle suite online. Probably wouldn’t have reacted so quickly otherwise.”
“Turned it off almost right away too. You blacked out for a little while there.”
“So it’s still available?”
“Yeah, but I doubt it’ll do much good against whatever the hell that thi
ng is.”
Kaiden thought back to the beginning of the test, going over the glossary. “That was probably the unidentified hostile.”
“Safe Bet.”
“You still have no clue what it is? Even though we got to see it up close?”
“Based on appearances, it looks like an Asiton droid. Can’t say it’s ringing any bells, though. Don’t have anything on file that looked like that thing,” Chief admitted.
“Means we don’t have a game plan, huh?”
“Sure we do. Get the hell out of here,” Chief stated acerbically. “That thing is distracted, and we’re only a few miles away from the end zone. Safe to say we got this in the bag.”
“What about the others?”
“What about the others?” Chief snickered. “Their sacrifices won’t be in vain and all that stuff…whatever makes you feel better. It’s not like they’re actually dying.”
Kaiden thought it through. It was true. He probably had the lead, thanks to taking down the Devil Bird, and he would probably get a bonus too for being one of the first to get to the end. This was a test of individuals, after all.
He saw another blast, the trees along the line of the beam disintegrating. He looked between the battle zone and the way toward the finish line and sighed.
“You’re going back, aren’t ya?” Chief asked.
“Can’t pass up a challenge,” Kaiden admitted with a shrug. “Besides, if we don’t know what it is, no one’s destroyed one before. I get to put my name in the history books and all that junk.”
“True enough, but if that’s the case, you’d be excited. I can read your vitals—no adrenaline pumping or heart rate increase,” Chief noted, his avatar popping up in front of Kaiden. “Come on now, buddy, what’s the real reason?”
He walked over to where he initially woke up, Chief hovering beside him. His Raptor lay on the ground a few feet away. He picked it up and dusted it off, checking the barrel and what remained of his ballistic rounds.
“I did the whole live-to-fight-another-day thing before. It’s not as victorious as they make it sound.” He primed the gun and snapped the lever “I keep remembering something an old…friend of mine once said. His name was Jake.”
“The guy I synthesized my personality off of?” Chief asked.
“Yeah, though that wasn’t really my choice. You kinda made an assumption there.” Kaiden huffed belligerently, looking back at the EI’s avatar.
“You told me to make the process speedy. Out of all the options you went through, it was the only one that caused a positive reaction. Just as much your fault as mine,” Chief pointed out haughtily, his color changing to a slightly annoyed red. “Besides, it’s not one-to-one. I’m not exactly like him, I’m my own…artificial character.”
Kaiden chuckled. “Yeah, for better or worse, I can certainly tell the difference.” He slung the shotgun on his back and turned to the EI. “You’ve been a pain in the ass, but you’ve made this fun so far. I ain’t complaining.”
“Well, if that doesn’t warm my little cyber heart,” Chief said sarcastically, but that didn’t stop him from turning a slightly delighted pink.
Kaiden walked over and looked at the battle in the distance. “Something he said a long time ago keeps echoing in my head since I got here. Never settle.” He pulled Debonair out for a moment, checking it for damage. “A pretty simple phrase, but damn, if it doesn’t get my blood boiling. Like he was looking down on me at the time.” He placed his pistol back in its holster after he was satisfied. “But, the more I think about it, the more I think he meant it differently.”
The floating orb hovered around until he hung in front of Kaiden again. “I think I get it.”
“Do you now?”
“He meant you can always do better,” Chief elucidated. “Take it from one whose ideas you keep bucking. Most of the time, I think nothing of it. You’ll die or get beat-up, I’ll laugh, then you’ll learn and follow instruction. But you have somehow been getting by on that stubbornness of yours.”
Kaiden shrugged. “Helps that I’m almost always right.”
The orb began to contract and expand, and a laughing noise erupted from the EI. “Ha! Not even almost—barely would be closer, and that’s being generous.”
“For a minute, I thought you were trying to have a moment there.” Kaiden scowled.
“Can’t let that ego get too big, or you might do something terrifyingly stupid.”
Kaiden chuckled. “Maybe. It would probably be pretty fun though, right?”
Chief’s eye looked off to the side. “Probably, but I’m also beginning to wonder if EIs can have aneurysms, so maybe keep it to a minimum?”
“No promises.”
Chief sighed before disappearing and reappearing in the display. “Figured as much.”
Kaiden took a running stance before sprinting off back to the battle. “Shut the hell up. You love it.”
“Luke is on his way back,” Jaxon informed the group. “He’s got another life to spare, but if he dies again, he’s gotta try to get around.”
“I’m sure we can find something for him to do,” Raul muttered.
“We got a plan yet?” Marlo asked, taking another shot that zoomed past the head. “Dammit!”
Jaxon took a few shots at the machine’s head. “Like I was saying, we have to get on or inside that thing…try to get the core directly.”
“Neat idea.” Flynn clucked his annoyance, taking out another rocket launcher. “Got any recommendations on how we get up there?”
“Cameron has scorpion wire. It can bypass the shields and pull someone up to it, and they can climb up the rest of the way while the rest distract the droid.” Jaxon didn’t look convinced that it was a viable option.
“You want me to get on that thing?” Cameron asked, aghast.
“I said someone, not you,” Jaxon retorted. “You probably don’t have the firepower to do it, anyway.”
“Then who should go?” Amber asked, stitching up Silas with her Stim Ray.
“Well, if we had that psycho who rode around on the Devil Bird, he’d probably—” Izzy broke off as they saw the head begin to charge up another blast. “Shit, this one ain’t missing.”
The group saw a couple explosions go off on the machine’s head, stopping the charge and causing it to sputter. They turned to see Kaiden lower his weapon and give them a wave. “Sorry about that. Bastard got me pretty good. Can I help?”
Jaxon noticed that the others were all looking at him. Then, as one, they looked back at Kaiden with Flynn nodding his head. “Oh, hell yes, you can.”
Chapter Thirty
“So the plan is for me to fling my ass on top of the death-machine, find its core, and destroy it—assuming there’s nothing blocking it?” Kaiden asked in mid-stride. He and the remaining soldiers ran through the jungle to put some distance between them and the killer droid. “I’m starting to think plans made on the fly aren’t very well thought out.”
“If you have an alternative, I’m all ears,” Jaxon retorted. “Luke and the other heavy would snap the line with the weight of their armor, none us have any explosives left, and you seem to have a death-wish. It makes you a prime candidate.”
“I don’t have a death wish, I just really want things dead sometimes,” Kaiden countered.
“I’m only working on the info I got.”
“You’ve known me like five minutes.”
“And in those five minutes, I’ve seen you ride on top of a Devil Bird, blow it up, crash on the ground, get hit with a rocket, and choose to come back to take down a weaponized engine of nightmares.” Jaxon laughed.
“He does have a point, mate. I was gonna say you’re quite brave, but suicidal tendencies also make sense,” Flynn stated as he leaped over a fallen tree.
“At least you give me the benefit of the doubt.”
“So, are we doing this or not?” Izzy asked, looking over her shoulder. “Because that thing is coming back, and it seems pissed.”
“Passive-aggressive?” Silas suggested, drawing his own gun.
“So what’s it going to be, Ace?” Jaxon asked.
“You calling me that as a pet name or because we share the class?” Kaiden inquired, slowing his stride and turning to face him.
“Would it help if I offered to buy drinks if we make it out of this?” Flynn asked, prepping a smoke grenade.
“It’s certainly added incentive.” Kaiden looked back at Jaxon, “Who’s got the wire?”
Jaxon turned to his teammate. “Cameron. Get over here.”
The bounty hunter hurried over as missiles erupted around them. He pulled off his gauntlet and handed it to Kaiden. “Trigger on the side fires, button on top drags you up. The hook is magnetized, so just aim in the general area.”
Kaiden nodded, taking the grappling gun as they dodged plasma fire. He slid next to Jaxon. “Got any idea where I should go?”
“Go for the top of the body. My guess is there’s a hatch or hole that will lead inside. If there isn’t, make one. I think we’ve gone beyond hurting its feelings.”
Another volley of rockets erupted a few feet away, knocking them back. “Even so, I think it's overreacting a bit.” Kaiden groaned, forcing himself off the ground.
“We’ll cover you, but there’s still a few turrets left, and they seem automated, so try not to get bullet-riddled before you get a chance to play hero.”
Kaiden attached the gauntlet to his right arm. “Hero? Not too interested in that, but I’ll certainly take the points for it.”
“Hold up a second,” Flynn said, pressing the side of his helmet.
Kaiden saw a message pop up on his display.
Flynn King invites you to join his party of 9.
Kaiden looked at Flynn and tilted his head. “What’s this for?”
“So we can keep track of each other and communicate through our EIs, just in case.”
“All of you are in a party?” Kaiden asked.
“We’ve been together long enough that the system did it automatically, but since you went flying, you didn’t get in,” Jaxon explained.
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