Aspirant 2: A Sci-Fi Harem Adventure

by Maxx Whittaker

  “And if you want it back, you’ll be a good little girl and follow us,” I say.

  There’s so much malice, so much pure murder in Dusk’s eyes that I momentarily wonder if this is a good idea. But she’s the only leverage we have, so I don’t see how we have a choice.

  “Or maybe I tell my guild and they kill you all,” she spits. “Once your dead–”

  “I wouldn’t,” Astra says breezily. “How long have you spent in this skin? How long have you worked to get where you are?” Her slow smile is the cruelest thing I’ve ever seen from her. “No one can return your powers to you but me. If I die… Well, I guess you’re starting from scratch.”

  “Look,” I say before Dusk can spit more poison, “we don’t give a shit about you. We just want to get out of this city alive. Your asshole guildie started shit, and your meathead guildie continued it. But we’ve got no beef with you. Stick with us a few days until we can get the hell out of here, and we’ll return your powers and you can walk away.”

  “I will not.” Her lip curls. “This is ridiculous, and I will not–”

  “You have no choice,” I say brutally. “If you leave, you lose everything. If we kill you, you lose everything. If your guild finds us, you lose everything. If you try to alert them–”

  “I lose everything. I get it.” Her nostrils flare as she stares at us like vermin. “Fine. I will follow you. For now.”

  Good enough. “Someone wake up Wick. We need a new hiding spot.”

  “Where will we go?” Mika asks.

  “Nowhere.”

  For a moment, I don’t realize who’s spoken. The word is so quiet, so calm.

  Three.

  I’d completely forgotten about him.

  He stands, leaning casually against the now closed front door.

  How? He was behind the bar when this all started. The room is too small for me to have missed him crossing it. But there he stands, katana in his hands and pointed at the ground, held casually in one hand.

  “What?” I manage past my disbelief.

  “You aren’t going anywhere,” he says, eyes finally raising to take us in. “At least, not until you answer some questions.”

  Oh God. We do not need this right now. “Look,” I say, starting forward. “I’m really sorry about the bar. We can give you some chips to repair the furniture, but we have to go. More Obsidians will be here soon and–”

  “Please be silent.”

  I stop, muscles going rigid. “Excuse me?”

  “None of what you’re saying matters. You’re going to answer my questions. If you don’t, I will kill you all.” His sleet eyes hold mine like a vice grip. “I have the strangest feeling like that would be very bad for you.”

  “Now see here–” Mika says, starting for him with flaming hands raised.

  I stop her with an outstretched arm. Something’s not right.

  Three’s just seen us kill a level 22 and subdue a 25. Yet he stands, completely unphased against all four of us. He hasn’t even raised his blade, yet. He’s too unassuming in his white shirt and jeans. “Please listen,” I say, suddenly far more afraid than I was with the Obsidians in my face, “we don’t have time for this. When that meathead respawns, he’s going to beeline for his guild and–”

  I don’t see Three move. In fact, the only way I know that he has is the sudden strike to my cheek, hard enough to snap my head to the side but not hard enough to cripple. I stumble sideways, falling over a table, but not before my mind registers that Three’s body blurred for a split second the moment I got hit.

  No way.

  “Sam!” Syl launches at the bartender, claws flashing. I lift my head from the floor just fast enough to see Three blur again, and suddenly Syl’s hammered to the ground like she’s been hit in the back with a massive, invisible hammer.

  She doesn’t move.

  “Is that enough of a demonstration?” Three asks. His face is perfectly expressionless. “I could kill you all. You could not stop me. You wouldn’t even know I’d moved.” He raises his blade and points it at me as I stand. “Your choice.”

  “Who are you?” Dusk whispers, all anger drained away. In fact, she looks terrified.

  Great. If a Lifestream veteran like her is scared shitless…

  I nod to Three. He lowers his blade. “Wake up your pet and follow me into the back room, please.” With that he blurs away, disappearing entirely. Even so, I get the feeling that if we ran for the door we’d be dead before we made it a step.

  “Let’s go,” I say, reaching to help Syl up.

  “Out of the frying pan,” Mika sighs as we make for the back.

  ***

  We push through a small hallway and into a room dominated by a long table. It’s carved of the same material as the bar; a solid piece of black and gold marble that’s more like an enormous block of stone than it is a surface for eating. A bar with dozens of exotic bottles sits along one wall, and huge fire roars in a fireplace opposite. Its flickering tongues are inviting in a way that sets me on edge. After what I’ve just seen, anything meant to lull or relax us is dangerous.

  Speaking of which… “Are these for us? Because if so, I think we’re not drinking at the moment.”

  Three sits at the head of the table, his katana set horizontally in front of him. He motions to the six glasses set at the table in spots obviously meant for us. “It’s just water.”

  I sit directly across from him and set the Corroc’s head at my feet as the girls and Wick take the side spots at the table. Dusk stares at us with disdain and Three with a bit of fear before turning her nose up and stalking to the corner, which is fine by me. I have no idea what we’re going to do with her, but I’m not going to pretend for a second that she’s a part of this.

  We sip the water tentatively. Nothing about Three suggests that he’s interested in hurting us, and considering how easily he could have killed us in the dining room I’m willing to chance it. It’s cool and refreshing, especially after a drink and a fight.

  He nods. “Good.” He steeples his fingers, and I have to fight back a laugh. It’s such a generic “movie villain” thing to do. “Now, please ask the obvious question so we can move on to more important matters.”

  I’ll bite. “Who are you?”

  He smiles for the first time. It’s barely a curve of his lips, but I take it as a good sign. “Thank you, Sam.”

  How does he know my name? Did one of the girls say it back in the bar? I can’t remember, and it doesn’t matter right now. Something’s obviously different about Three. His unreadable level, his movement… I sit back, setting my drink down as I test a theory. “You’re an admin.”

  “Not exactly. My in-game name is Three, but before Lifestream, my name was Jack Torrance.”

  Mika jolts. “Not… That Jack Torrance?”

  “The same.”

  I look between them. “Care to clue the rest of us in?”

  “Jack Torrance,” Astra quotes. “Billionaire programmer and game developer. Consulted with Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo on console design before founding GenTech…”

  “The company that founded Lifestream.” Mika sets her cup down, hand trembling. “You created this place.”

  “Among others,” he says softly.

  “Let me guess,” I say. “The Ten.”

  “You’re perceptive. I think there’s an excellent chance that you’ll leave this room alive.” He runs a finger along the blade of his katana. “Depending on your answers from here.”

  “If you’re not admins, then…”

  “The Ten are not a guild in the traditional sense. We are the original designers and creators of Lifestream. As a… reward… for assisting the Threvians in transitioning Lifestream from our control to theirs, we’ve been given special status within game.”

  “You helped them?” I frown.

  “Not all of us,” Three says. “We were eighteen, once.”

  “Ah.”

  “Some of us influence events. Assist other
guilds. Adventure in the world we’ve created.” Three’s stare is like a blade. “Others, such as I, wait.”

  “For what?”

  “Something to change. Something of interest.” He sighs. “I truly hope that it turns out to be you.”

  Mika’s still agog. “Jack Torrance. Sorry. Not trying to fangirl. Just… You’ve done so much for gaming. I feel… Like I should ask for your autograph or something.”

  “That’s the past,” he says, voice hardening. “All of it’s gone. Burned away by your people,” he says, eyes on Syl. She stares back, unyielding. How he sees through her disguise is another question not worth asking. “Jack Torrance is dead. There is no GenTech. The Threvians own it, now. They own the planet.” He closes his eyes a moment, visibly calming. “To business.”

  Mika deflates. “I’m sorry.”

  He waves that off. “Here’s how this is going to work. I’m going to ask you some questions. You’re going to answer me truthfully. If you don’t, I will kill you.”

  “Simple enough. And before we start… You know we can’t respawn, don’t you?” I lean forward. “That if you kill us, that’s it.”

  “Yes. I hope that proves to be motivation for you to make this painless.”

  “Okay.” I look to the girls. As one, they’re tense. Ready to run, to fight. I take a deep breath and smile reassuringly, meeting each of their eyes before turning back to Three. “Ask away.”

  “Who are you, and how did you die?”

  Goddamn. Right to the point. “How did you know?”

  “Not important.”

  “And how we died is?” Syl asks.

  “Perhaps not.” Three considers. “Why did you die?”

  Dude sure knows how to ask a question that cuts right to the bone. I realize that if I answer his question honestly, I have to tell him everything. That we were harvested for the Aspirant program. About the Citadel.

  Our mission.

  He looks so unassuming, sitting across the table in his plain t-shirt. But his eyes are unwavering and hard as diamond. Can we risk this? Risk laying it all out for a stranger?

  I can tell by Mika’s glance that she’s in. Whoever Three was before all this, she doesn’t seem skeezed, so I doubt the guy’s a Bill Cosby or something. Hell, considering how scary he is, he’d be an amazing ally.

  Do we have a choice, anyway? He’s already proven that we’re basically ants to him.

  He watches as I debate, finger tapping his blade soundlessly. It’s the tiniest moment, but the message is clear: Choose.

  Here goes nothing. “I died when I played chicken with a cliff in Colorado. And then I woke up.”

  From there, I tell him everything. About the Citadel. The trials. The Aspirant program. The Shepherd. I gloss over unimportant stuff like the details of particular trials, or what the girls and I did in between them. I tell him about Astra, and she ducks her head when I describe how she saved us, risking everything on a gamble that we could save the world. How we escaped into Lifestream.

  The girls stay mostly silent as I speak. Mika occasionally adds in important details I don’t think to. Astra doesn’t talk much but is clearly enjoying herself. Syl sits absolutely still, eyes never leaving Three. I know that look. She’s poised to leap, to defend us even though she knows it’d be a death sentence.

  Through it all, Three barely reacts. He interrupts with a probing question once or twice, but for the most part he shows no shock at our story. No disbelief. No anything, really.

  I hope that’s a good thing.

  The only time he reacts is when we admit that the Shepherd’s been let into Lifestream. That he’s loose… Somewhere. At this, his eyes widen. “Well, that is interesting.”

  There’s a strangled noise of outrage from the corner of the room. Dusk. I’d almost forgotten she was here. She takes a step forward, trembling with rage. “Why are you listening to this bullshit? Heroes out to save the world? AI heroes and villains. If you’re believe a word of this, you’re as stupid as they–”

  Three blurs.

  Dusk cries out as something strikes her face. A razor cut opens on her cheek, so quick that Three’s already sitting, composed at the head of the table as she raises her hand to staunch the wound. She stumbles against the wall and almost falls.

  It’s over before I have time to fully turn around and take her in.

  “Do not interrupt again,” Three says in a tone that cuts as sharp as his blade.

  Dusk stands, eyes filling with tears of fury, still holding her cheek. Her glare could melt ice, but she doesn’t speak.

  “Anyway…” I continue, suddenly far less willing to keep Three waiting for the rest of the story. Our time in Lifestream only takes a few moments to finish retelling. “After surviving Wick’s little ambush, he snuck us into town,” I finish. Wick slinks lower in his chair. He’s been uncharacteristically quiet since we got here. “And we made our way here.”

  “Which path did you take to find my bar?”

  Wick clears his throat. “Ah, just through the southwestern runner passage.”

  “And?”

  “Through Josten’s old newspaper basement.”

  Three levels a look on Wick that could peel paint. Clearly, he knows the kid’s leaving something out.

  Wick quails. “And through Madam Kara’s.”

  “Hm.” The single syllable carries a shitload of meaning that I can’t decode.

  “And now we’re here,” I say.

  “And you have not seen sign of the Shepherd since porting from Green Hills?”

  “No, sir.”

  A minute goes by. Then two. Three doesn’t move a muscle, just sits frozen with a single finger on his blade. Is that a good thing? Bad? His lack of expression is maddening. My heart pumps like a galloping horse and I almost startle when the fire pops. The room smells like woodsmoke and fear and the blood that still cakes my fist.

  Another minute passes before Three finally raises his head. “That… Is quite a story.”

  I tense, grab for my power. “And?”

  Three sits back and leaves his sword on the table. God, I hope that’s symbolic. “And I believe you.”

  I laugh almost hysterically. “You do? Because recounting all that shit, I’m not sure I believe it.”

  “That is why I think you’re telling the truth,” he says. “No one trying to deceive me would come up with something that outlandish.”

  Tension drains from the room like air from a popped balloon. I rest my elbows on the table. “Trust me… We didn’t ask for this. And none of it is bullshit.”

  Instead of answering, Three turns to Syl. “Threvian. Your people have much to answer for.”

  Syl’s claws are an inch long. She slowly sets them on the table, then retracts them until they disappear. Good girl. “Yes,” she says sadly.

  “Why do you follow this one?” he asks, pointing at me.

  “I told you,” I interrupt. This is a hard subject for her. “She–”

  “I would hear it from her,” he says. “And please do not speak out of turn. This interview isn’t over, and I still haven’t made my decision.”

  And just like that, the blade of icy dread stabs back into my gut. I glance to Dusk, still hunched in the corner. The cut to her cheek is tiny but deep, and a steady stream of blood runs down her chin and drips onto the floor.

  Syl blinks for long moments as she considers. “My people were wrong,” she finally says.

  “By what measure?” Three touches his blade again. “Should the strong not take from the weak? Is that not the way of the world? Nature?”

  “Take?” Syl considers. “Yes, the strongest often prevail. But the cost must be considered. My people are warriors, but we were not always conquerors.” She looks at Mika and I with an apology in her huge eyes. “Your people changed that.”

  “Why throw in with a human?” Three studies her intently.

  “Because my people were not worthy. They were not honorable.” She reaches out to rest a
hand on mine. “He is.”

  “It’s not because you’re in love with him?”

  Syl cocks her head. “Love is a byproduct. Important to me, but incidental. I would have embarked on this path regardless of my affection for Sam.”

  Three nods, leaning back. Satisfied.

  “Why do you want to know about her?” I venture.

  Three doesn’t answer. Again. Its infuriating, but I’m not about to give him shit about it.

  “What will you do with her?” he asks.

  It takes me a moment to realize what he’s talking about. “Dusk?” She turns slightly at her name on my lips. “I’m going to use her.”

  His eyes narrow at my honesty. “Oh?”

  “If Obsidian’s going to have a problem with us, try to hinder us, we need a bargaining chip. That’s her.”

  He purses his lips as he ponders this. “You may be overestimating her importance.” He shrugs with one shoulder. “Then again, perhaps not. You have nothing to lose.”

  “Aside from the ‘tude,” Mika quips.

  Dusk stares daggers.

  “Why are you doing this?” Three asks, ignoring them both.

  I sigh. “I’ve asked myself that a thousand times. And the truth is, it was never really a conscious decision. More a series of… Escalations? At first, I didn’t know I was doing anything other than surviving. And then I met Mika.” She smiles at me, so heartbreakingly beautiful that I can’t help but take her hand. “And then Syl.” The Threvian gives me her little half grin, and though it’s on a human face, it’s still unmistakably her. “And Astra.” The AI’s eyes are luminous in the dim light, shining with unshed tears as she watches us.

  “And now?”

  “Now I fight for them. To save them. And to save everyone else.”

  “Just like that? From surviving to saving the world?”

  “Yeah.” As usual, my mind doesn’t want to fully contemplate his words, so I keep it simple.

  Three doesn’t press me.

  Maybe it’s enough.

  Mika squeezes my hand before releasing and turning to Three. “If I may ask…”

  He nods.

  “What are you going to do with us?”

  Three taps his blade once. “Nothing.”