Keep Your Friends Close

by ND Roberts

  K’aia nodded, forcing another spoonful of the mush down. Eve told us this is supposed to be like real life. That means we’re probably going to see some stuff you’re not going to like and there will be nothing you can do about it.

  Alexis tilted her chin. That’s the kind of thinking that makes bullies think they can get away with treating people badly in the first place. I’m not going to stand for it. You have to act when you see injustice. If you don’t, can you really expect anyone else to do the same? She screwed her eyes closed and concentrated on coiling a whisper of Etheric energy underneath an abandoned mess tin on the table without tipping it. Got it.

  I don’t think it worked, Trey commiserated when nothing happened.

  Alexis raised an eyebrow. Watch.

  The SIs left the line, laughing loudly while the two sidekicks congratulated their ringleader on “keeping the little people in their places.”

  Alexis had heard enough. She released the energy, and it sprang up and upended the tin, spilling the nutritional paste in the path of the SIs.

  The lead SI slipped in the pile of mushy paste and skidded backward into the second. The impact knocked both of their tins out of their hands, adding to the mess already on the floor. Their limbs got tangled as they crashed to the ground, taking out the third SI with their tumble before the leader had registered they weren’t making it out of this with their dignity intact.

  Every recruit in the mess tent burst out in uncontrollable laughter as the three SIs lost their footing and landed in the slippery mess.

  Trey snorted, unabashed by his glee at the disaster Alexis had caused for the bullies. I take it back; this is too funny! What did you do?

  Alexis slapped the table, cackling along with the rest of their dormmates. Well, there’s this saint. We call her “Payback—”

  “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?”

  Every NPC, human, Yollin, and Baka in the mess tent turned to the thunderous bellow that came from the exit.

  Ohhh, now we’re for it, K’aia groaned as General Kispin glared at the SIs, waiting for an answer. This guy is a sadist.

  The SIs stood at attention and tried not to show how undignified they felt with smears of nutritional substitute making them look as though they’d soiled their trousers.

  The leader stepped forward and pointed an accusatory finger at the recruits. “One of them did this, sir.”

  The general cast a repulsed glance at the SIs and pointed at the exit. “Get to your barracks and clean up.” He leveled his angry orange glare on the recruits before turning on his heel and stalking out of the mess tent. “Outside, all of you. Transition is over.”

  K’aia wasn’t sorry to leave the remainder of the mush. She dumped her mess tin in one of the collection bins and waited for the others to dispose of theirs.

  They ducked out of the tent into the bright morning light, which revealed the base in its entirety. Gabriel took the lead, heading away from the row of tents toward the parade ground on the opposite side from the prefab barracks.

  Alexis sensed that something was off. She drifted a few steps from the others, reaching out to find the source of the foreboding she felt.

  What is it? Gabriel asked.

  It’s gone. Alexis closed her eyes and searched for the trail with her mind. If it was there to begin with.

  Trey and K’aia exchanged mystified glances.

  Let’s just get on with this, Alexis conceded. I’m ready for some action.

  7

  Alexis dragged herself past the barracks and into the shower block in the next prefab. She was more than grateful to sluice off the thick layer of dried mud that was embedded in every fold and crease of her body and uniform.

  The last eight weeks had been interesting if she looked at the time in the context of the ancient human proverb. The team had been pushed hard enough that even she and Gabriel had been challenged.

  All four had been reckless or naïve enough to lose their lives at least once during the endless rotation of physical testing under intense psychological pressure. However, as the numbers of NPC recruits around them began to dwindle, each had found new reserves of determination to counter the adversity.

  Alexis found the urge to reach for her connection to technology was beginning to pass. What she missed now was the comfort of a constant digital presence in the back of her mind.

  Gemini came to mind often. While she and Gabriel were accustomed to having restricted access to all their advantages as part of their training, this was the longest they had been without contact with an EI since they had been given Phyrro as infants.

  Alexis blanked the activity around her, too exhausted and stiff to join in the shenanigans. She tossed her clean clothing over the stall door, hit the shower button as she kicked the door closed, and slumped under the hot water without bothering to undress. “It’s easier this way,” she told herself, closing her eyes as the hot water ran over her hair. “I can sleep while I get clean, and my laundry gets done.”

  “Sure, and your ass will be chapped for the next week,” Sibil called from the next stall. “Rookie mistake.”

  Alexis raised her eyebrow without opening her eyes. “What do you know about rookie mistakes?” she replied a little more archly than she would usually treat a fellow recruit. “You’ve been here as long as I have.”

  “You want to see my chapped ass?” The side of the stall wobbled, and a pair of scaly buttocks topped by a short, thick tail appeared over the top. “See? Nasty, ain’t it?”

  Alexis regretted opening her eyes. “Totally.” She sighed as she began stripping her uniform off, now that the water had softened the mud enough for her to undo the fastenings without tearing them off by mistake. “You should put something on that. Like some pants.”

  The derriere disappeared, and there was a scramble before Sibil’s stubby snout replaced it. “Maybe I will. Or maybe I’ll keep airing it until it heals since it bothers you so much.”

  Alexis waved a finger over herself to indicate her half-dressed state. “Whatever you need. Want to give me some privacy here?”

  Sibil tilted her head back and hissed, “Privacy. That’s a good one. Want me to turn your sheets down while I’m at it, your Highness?”

  Alexis forced her cramped fingers apart and manifested an energy ball. “Look, Sibil, you’re fun on an ordinary day. I just spent the last twelve hours up to my armpits in stinking mud with my pack held above my head. My tolerance for humor is less than zero right now.”

  “Whatever.” Sibil gave Alexis a sour look and got down. “No need for the light show.”

  “Don’t worry about Alexis,” Trey called from the open shower opposite the stalls. “She just hates getting dirty.” He caught the soap that came flying over the door of Alexis’ stall and began lathering his fur with it. “Thanks! I don’t know why you’re not enjoying this. We’re outdoors, and we’re learning. Who cares if we’re not getting a break?”

  “Wash your enthusiastic mouth out,” Alexis grumbled. “Nobody could enjoy getting bested by the SIs for two whole months without a break.”

  “But it’s a ‘learning experience,’ remember?” Trey launched a spray of water at Alexis' stall, catching K’aia instead as she walked through the showers with a huge towel wrapped around her braids.

  K’aia screamed in surprise and threw the soaked towel at Trey. “You’re an ass, Trey. I just got my braid dry!”

  Trey grinned as he batted the towel out of the air. “You missed a spot. I was just helping.” His attention was stolen by three other recruits calling a greeting as they entered the shower block. “What’s with them? They haven’t spoken a word to us since we got here, and now they’re getting chatty?”

  Gabriel looked at the NPCs. “It’s the game progressing. You’ll get to know the characters. When you’ve been in the gameworld for a while, you’ll forget they’re not real.”

  Alexis came out of her stall in a clean vest and leggings and grabbed a towel to rub her hair dry. “Normally
we have our party—that’s everyone playing—and we team up against the NPCs. That’s those guys.”

  Trey got out of the shower. “So they’re just there? Do they have a purpose?” He shook himself vigorously, spraying everything in a six-foot radius with fine rain.

  One of the recruits, a scarred Shrillexian, objected. “Damn right, we have a purpose.” He mimed holding a rifle. “Point and shoot, same as you, ya dumb furball.”

  Trey raised his eyebrows at the Shrillexian’s back. “Friendly guy.”

  “Try not to piss them all off,” K’aia told him. “We can learn about what’s coming from what the NPCs tell us. It’s like having eyes all around the base.”

  Sibil exited her stall and walked over to the bench dividing the showers from the lockers. “You’ll get used to Gorrak. He’s a miserable son-of-a-space-slug, but he’s always had my back when it counted.”

  Alexis glanced at the others. See? “I get that. Sounds like you’ve known him for a while.” She dropped her towel on the floor by the bench and sat to pull on her socks and boots. “What I want to know is how long we’re going to be here at the Corral. I want to find out who we’re being trained to fight.”

  Sibil shrugged. “I know Gorrak from way back, and we know as much as you about this enemy. Hell, we’re not even soldiers, we’re thieves.” She looked the four of them up and down. “I’ve been watching you guys. You look kinda…upright, or something. Like this isn’t your first time following orders. You get thrown out of the military?”

  A klaxon sounded, forestalling Alexis’ reply. The water shut off next, bringing complaints from the recruits in the stalls.

  Gabriel pointed out the clock that appeared on the holoscreen. “Ten minutes. What do you think, lights out?”

  “I’m sick and tired of being told when I can eat, sleep, and even take a dump,” Gorrak growled, heading for the exit. “I’m going to look for a way out. Who’s with me?”

  Sibil grabbed his arm. “Be sensible, Gorrak. They’ve got weapons. You saw them shoot that recruit when we first got here.”

  Trey was mystified as to why the game characters were going through this…script? It fascinated him how realistic their emotions appeared to be. He zoned out a little, his eyes darting between Sibil and Gorrak as the exchange became heated.

  K’aia stepped in to pull Trey away. “Whatever you’re going to do, you can decide without any of us. We’re taking our behinds to the barracks to get some rest before the next round of training begins.”

  Sibil tugged on Gorrak’s arm. “Come on. We’ll be out of here in a few more weeks, right? You can hold out until then.”

  Assault Course, Outer Quadrant (three weeks later)

  K’aia panted as she sprinted along the path up the mountain with her NPC partner held securely across her shoulders. “How you doing up there?” she asked, hearing Gorrak’s stomach complain at being jolted repeatedly.

  “Just keep running,” the Shrillexian barked, the tremulous edge to his rough voice causing him to sound somewhat fragile. “I don’t care if I’m sick all down your back, just don’t lose our lead. Alexis and Sibil are right behind us.”

  K’aia vaulted a pile of scree, bending her knees slightly as she landed to absorb the impact. “Yeah, well, I’m gonna mind if you mess my uniform up. Keep your damned mouth shut, Gorrak.”

  Alexis flashed by with her partner, the feather-boned Sibil, who called, “Eat our dust, suckers!” then started cackling.

  Gorrak groaned at Sibil’s boasting. “What’s the point of earning a head start when she’s just going to beat us to every obstacle?”

  K’aia rolled her eyes. “We’ve still got five kilometers to go before we get to the next obstacle. Quit your whining, or I’ll throw your ass down this mountain and take the penalty for dropping you.” She shifted Gorrak’s weight across her shoulders and put on an extra burst of speed to bring the Shrillexian’s grumpery to an end. “Happy now?”

  “I’d be happier if you shut up and ran faster,” Gorrak bitched.

  Lower Atmosphere, Personnel Carrier

  Gabriel waited in line behind Trey to make his high-altitude jump. They were near the back of the line, thanks to Trey’s enthusiasm when the SIs had revealed the exercise was to be air-to-ground transfers.

  He checked his exosuit’s systems, making certain everything was in the green. The connections between his skinsuit and the mech body were responding as intuitively as any he’d trained in outside of the game.

  Trey turned to look at Gabriel through the back of the clear bubble over the cockpit. The Baka’s mouth moved without a word escaping the soundproof cabin of his mech.

  Turn on your HUD, Gabriel instructed. Trey’s constant state of excitement amused him, but he was pessimistic for his friend’s chances of completing today’s training exercise without dying. We’ll be able to see each other on camera. Follow my lead.

  Trey looked blankly at the controls. How do I switch it on? He blinked in confusion when the display lit up, indicating the button to press. Oh, got it. Gabriel appeared in the corner of his display a moment later. What next?

  Gabriel shuffled around Trey’s mech, switching places so he was ahead of him in line. I’ll go first. Do what we practiced on the ground. Follow the instructions in your HUD. Don’t panic.

  The terrain map came up in their HUDs as they slowly shuffled their mechs to the head of the line.

  Trey worked it out quickly enough. We’re headed for a beach?

  Gabriel nodded, making a last adjustment to his thruster rig as he stepped up to the door to make his jump. Looks like it. Be ready to fight when you land. There’s no way it’s going to be a simple drop.

  The SI manning the door wasn’t giving the recruits too long to gather themselves before he helped them out of the hatch with a little shove from his mech’s clawed foot.

  Gabriel didn’t give the SI the pleasure. He pushed off from the hatch, pressing his mech’s arms to its sides as the air resistance rushed to meet his suit.

  Time became irrelevant as adrenaline stole his ability to process anything but the moment. The sensation of freefalling toward the surface with only the six by five by six metal and plastic shell to protect him should the mech malfunction brought everything around him into crystalline focus.

  Gabriel opened the mech’s arms, slowly shifting its body until he was in a position to deploy the thrusters. He checked around for Trey as he stabilized, seeing in his HUD cam that he was still in the aircraft, hovering at the hatch with a dubious expression. Jump before the SI pushes—

  Too late. The SI lifted his mech’s foot and kicked Trey’s mech out of the hatch.

  Trey screamed in surprise at the sudden ejection. He windmilled his arms and legs erratically in a hopeless attempt to regain control, obeying his body’s instinct instead of deploying his thrusters as his HUD was telling him to.

  The mech flailed in response, plummeting toward the sand in an uncontrolled dive.

  Gabriel landed at a run. He came to a stop on the wet sand and looked up at Trey’s mech looping toward the ground. He hoped Eve was getting a kick out of watching Trey try to get control of the mech.

  Trey’s heart beat out of his chest, clarity eluding him as his mech’s head hurtled toward the planet’s surface.

  This was it. He was going to die.

  He was overcome with relief when his mech kicked into emergency mode and the thrusters shot him upward in an attempt to avoid a crash.

  Trey whooped with relief when the ground receded almost as rapidly as it had loomed in his sights.

  However, his problems weren’t over.

  Trey’s last thought as his mech slammed into the personnel carrier in a ball of flames was that it was a good thing he wasn’t doing this for real.

  The day ended over generous helpings of some pink nutritional substance and a thorough retelling of the day’s happenings inside the mess tent, followed by the short walk back to the barracks.

  Sibil walked with Al
exis and K’aia, joining their continuing debate about the deadliest shoe to wear in a fight. “You can hide a spring blade in a low block heel.”

  “Your heel is the blade when you wear stilettos,” Alexis argued. “My mother taught me there’s no reason a woman can’t look good and kick ass.”

  Trey glanced at Alexis doubtfully. “Yeah, but how are you supposed to kick while you’re balanced on heels?”

  Alexis waved him off. “I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life. If my mom can do it, so can I,” she declared. “Talk to me when you can walk and run all day without tripping over your bare feet.

  “That’s if Mom lets you wear heels,” Gabriel teased.

  “You forget that we’ll be adults when we get out of here,” Alexis reminded him. “Wait and see.”

  Sibil frowned. “You think we’ll be released?”

  Gabriel nodded. “Yeah, just as soon as we’ve fought whatever war is going on outside of here. It’s not a bad life,” he told the NPCs firmly. “If you can accept the discipline and get with the training you’ll be better for it.”

  Gorrak raised himself onto his tiptoes and danced around Alexis and Sibil. “You females are footwear obsessed.”

  “Not me.” K’aia scoffed, wiggling the lethal claws that tipped her toes. “All this makes me glad I come equipped with built-in weaponry.”

  Gabriel snickered as he passed, getting the door for them all. “That makes you sound like a cyborg.”

  K’aia’s eyes widened. “Yeah, no. I’ve had all the enhancement I’m ever going to get, thank you very much.”

  Gorrak grunted as he swerved around K’aia to enter the barracks. “I’d take the assist. Who doesn’t want to be stronger?”