by Ted L C
“I was fortunate enough to have my own mining crew extract some of it—”
“Alyssa’s dagger is made from a similar material,” a thin line creeps across Derek’s face as he faces her. “How could she get them?”
“Here is my hypothesis. She used her invisibility to infiltrate a mining or military establishment. Afterward, steal the metal. Then find a specialized 3.D. printer, and cut out her daggers from a template of her choice—”
“Incorrect,” Alyssa balls her fingers and rotates her thumb downward.
“We are almost done. No more interruptions, please.
“The gloves are lined with a heat retardant memory foam, followed by linked Stellar.
“Here is my favorite part of the presentation; a warrior’s protector, your sword. Its name is what you wish. However, please make sure the name is meaningful to you.
“Now, your sword is only a guard and handle at the moment. However, with identical technology to the S.A.P., it contains neural recognition. When the mind envisions a blade within that handle; Nanos will disperse from your SAP, forming your weapon of choice.
“If you can not put the pieces of the puzzle together, your S.A.P. is the glue that holds your set together. Protect it with your life.
“Now for the end of the tour. Any more questions and comments will be dealt with later. For now, we must begin your training. To get you into the field ASAP. Derek, proceed through the doorway and prepare yourself for your first training sequence.
“Derek.”
“Yeah?” the boy arcs a brow.
“Here are some words of wisdom you need to remember,” a continuous beep resonates from Liam’s pocket. “B-be sure to protect your neck in all situations and it’s either your life or your opponent’s.”
* * *
“Why hello there! I’m Laura,” a voice reverberates throughout his helmet. “An A.I. software forever progressing your arc under the instruction of Reivscere Corporation.
“I welcome you to the training simulation Alpha-One. Here you will be tested under the following categories: endurance, technique, strength, and survival. Have you already agreed to form eight, zero, one, nine?”
“Yes?”
“Also, you are aware that this is a life-threatening simulation, correct?” she says. “Reivscere is not responsible for any incidents related to products due to our perfection in research and development.”
“I’m aware of this, now.”
“Perfect! Do you know how to form your sword?”
Derek’s eyes drift toward the barren hilt magnetized to his side. “I guess not.”
“Currently,” a recording of Liam’s voice reverberates throughout the helmet. “Your sword is only a guard and handles at the moment; however, with identical technology to the S.A.P., it contains neural recognition. When the mind envisions a blade within that handle; Nanos will disperse from your SAP, forming your weapon of choice.
“Would you like me to repeat this voice recording?”
“I’m fine,” an image of two prongs with three triangles holding them together forms inside of Derek’s mind.
Millions of black ants crawl across Derek’s arm toward the hilt.
“Exquisite! Please give your sword point three seconds to conjure.
“A word of the wise once said, ‘always have a plan in mind before starting a fight.”
“Have you thought of a name for your sword so that I may cache it for later use?”
Revelator sounds dope.
“I’ll go with ‘Revelator’.”
The NanoLites stop crawling out of his S.A.P.
The weapon inside of his thoughts comes to life.
“I’ll go with Revelator,” Derek’s voice mirrors through his ears.
“Re-revel-ator—Revelator is the name I’ve heard—correct?”
“Yes.”
“Exquisite! Let me finish setting a few things up before we begin—
“Sleight of Hand system—activated. Echolocation—activated. Back camera—activated. Spike E one eight eight—online. Damage recognition—active.
“Your armor, along with A.I. Laura is now active. Training will begin in five—four—three—
“Thank you for choosing Reivscere Corporation. Two—
“Best of luck—one—”
Derek’s abdomen jerks him left as a knife flashes by his helmet. A screech reverberates from his helmet.
“Left cheek—grazed.”
His gaze transfers between three slender androids. Their legs carry them through a myriad of directions within the arena.
A porcupine erupting needles illustrates inside of his mind. Spikes propel from the S.A.P. at the leftmost droid.
The spikes graze its shoulder.
Two other droids transition into chrome blurs, jolting in Derek’s direction.
A sword flashes from one of their wrists, peeling Stellar flakes off the boy’s chest.
The other leaps forward.
His hand hovers across both sides of the rightmost robot’s skull. The lad’s grip collapses. The machine’s head turns into a crushed can.
He feints while springing backward.
Revelator heaves toward the bot.
It slams a palm against the lad’s shoulder.
The sword’s handle slips, retreating from his vibrating fingers.
An image of an army of ants encasing a human’s calf streams in Derek’s mind.
The sword detonates. The Nanos form an anthill, absorbing the hunk of metal’s leg.
He hurls his wrist at the reflective creature. The thin triangles cleave the silver film lining its face—
As the third cyborg approaches, following its fallen comrade. The arena blackens.
A heavy object taps the top of the boy’s skull
“We have a runner!” Liam’s voice echoes over an intercom.
Lights pour throughout the room, revealing the sand underneath Derek’s feet.
“Training simulation Alpha-One terminated. Fantastic job, you’re alive!” Laura says.
Quick pulses beat against Derek’s chest.
Did I get the third one?
* * *
Human Realm
“What’s happening?” Derek’s voice muffles the sounds of compressing air.
His Eyes follow the wall behind him, which absorbs the towering metallic sheets.
“We are in lockdown, lad,” Liam makes his way through the doorway. His pupils ascend. “Execute command, alpha, two—three—three.
“Doors, only let those through whose D.N.A. matches mine, Derek, and Alyssandra’s. Do not let the android pass through our halls.”
“Affirmative,” a modulated voice echoes. “Commands activated. Defense systems—active. Rail turrets—active. E.M.P. turrets—active. Please be safe, my liege.”
A swarm of Nanos skitters across the boy’s arm as the Revelator’s blade disintegrates.
“The weapons equipped on these droids should make you reconsider your action,” Liam says. “What intentions do you think a rogue droid has?”
“Um—” a fork illustrates itself inside of Derek’s mind. The bots ferry toward the hilt. “To take out its master? Sabotage?”
“Close enough,” the man presses a palm against his own forehead. “The first mission is to retrieve the android without damaging its core. It is nestled within its cranium.
“Would you help me with this task, Derek? I already asked Alyssa; she agreed.”
“This might lead us to a clue on the knowledge we seek,” Alyssa’s body emerges from the shadows.
“Sure,” the Revelator scrapes the itching sensation flowing from his calf. “It’s not like there’s else to do.”
“Great,” a hologram map of a labyrinth hovers over the man’s wrist. “We travel as a group until reaching this room.” An appendage of his shifts toward a box intersecting three tunnels. “From there, lass, take the left. Lad, the right. I will continue through the middle.
“All paths meet at the
northeastern entrance of the hangar bee-fifty-one.
“If the droid escapes, it will take me months to track it. Move with a sense of urgency!”
Liam’s pinched fingers release a small black ball; it falls into the girl’s palm.
A feeling of foam molds to the innards of her ear as she presses against the device.
With his index and middle finger, Liam forms the shape of a gun. The man aims at Derek and the right side of the hall.
The lass’ neck deviates to the left corridor.
“Derek, you have entered a secure communication channel—” Laura says. “Liam Byrne has entered the channel—Alyssandra Kouris has entered the channel—”
“Mind your rear-view cam., Derek,” the grafting voice reverberates throughout the interior of his helm. “It is displayed in the upper left corner of your screen. If you encounter a situation where the lights go out, tell Laura to activate Echolocation.
“Moreover, be careful. Bee-seventeen might appear when you least expect it.”
Metallic clanks echo through the right hallway.
“Disperse,” Liam’s feet carry him at blinding speeds through the middle corridor.
“Don’t get offed,” a grin forms on Alyssa’s face.
She takes a step forward—her toes glide across the marble flooring.
A symphony of taps reverberates through the various corridors.
The aroma of frankincense pulses through Derek’s nostrils.
“Huh,” the boy’s legs yank himself into the hall. His movements identical to a running Gazelle.
The shadows consume his body as light clinks ring every couple of seconds.
* * *
Three disks from the front manifest, spiraling through the void. On the upper leftmost screen on Derek’s heads-up display. Four more appear, but higher than the frontal saucers.
The boy’s figure erupts into ashes.
Derek appears deeper within the corridor and heaves his wrists forward. The SAP spits a cluster of spikes at a wall.
Numerous plates detonate upon collision. The rest ram into the sheets rock surface beside him. Their bodies discharge billows of gas.
Groups of shards gush from the yellow clouds.
“Signs of mustard gas detected—” the airflow pulsing through the helmet changes stops. Sounds of computer fans hum into both ears. “Countermeasures—activated.”
“Don’t let me perish—don’t let me perish—”
An object lodges into the armor on Derek’s belly. Burrowing through the Stellar shell as a burning sensation surges through his stomach.
The boy’s eyes shift downward.
His head attempts to follow. The clenched muscles aligning his neck prevent it from doing so. A scarlet droplet dibbles, sliding across his abdomen.
A cluster of gyrating saucers streams on the screen.
An avalanche of marble collapses on them.
“Are you well, Derek?” Alyssa’s faint voice flows with the sounds of rolling boulders.
“Sorta,” the boy rests a bloodied palm against the disk wedged into his gut. “What the hell is happening? Shouldn’t you chase the robot?”
Her short tan legs and hem of her skirt appear.
“Reivscere’s secrets can burn in flames,” her eyes magnetize to the plate creeping into Derek’s stomach. “Your well-being is far more important. Follow me.”
Resting palms on the ground, a vision of a staircase sketches itself inside of Alyssa’s mind.
Her eyelids yank themselves toward opposing directions.
The mineral particles crawl into one another and link. They form steps leading through the hole amidst the ceiling.
“Are you OK, lad?” Liam’s voice circulates through the duo’s helmets.
“Yeah,” Alyssa tangles her fingers with his while making her way up the staircase. “What’s up?”
“Laura notified me about the signs of mustard gas and the puncture in Derek’s armor. Did either of you spot bee-seventeen?”
“Yes,” Alyssa’s eyelids halfway collapse. “However, he evaded us. We’re going back to the twenty-fifth floor to try to intersect him. I’m sure he took toward the vents after his guerrilla attempt on Derek.”
“Unfortunate,” a muffled sigh rumbles. “Teleport to me. I am at the hangar.”
She plants a foot on the top stair.
A rumble emits from below Derek. The marble cracks.
The boy collapses like a rag doll, yanking the girl’s body onto the ground. A crack reverberates from her arm.
“Sekhemet!” the black specs of her tattoo march toward her hand, forming a glove. Afterward, they form a sleeve, mounting itself to the rim of the hole aligning the ceiling. “Teleport to the ledge before my-my arm falls off!”
The weight tugging Alyssa’s limb vanishes.
“Are you well?” Derek’s monotonous voice flows through her ears.
“Having your ar-arm ripped from its socket by trying to pull something the weight of a car do-doesn’t usually mean one is OK,” her sleeve shuffles from side-to-side.
It forms a dagger with a pommel with the shape of an elk. The blade tears through her limb. Like a faucet, red fluid drains from the open socket.
“Teleport us to l-Liam! Stack the agony of teleporting on top of th-this bitch of an injury!”
The thought of Liam’s oval-shaped face manifests inside the boy’s mind. An eraser sweeps the images, revealing darkness. A dull pain blossoms in his skull.
“I’m ability locked.” Derek beats a palm against the side of his head.
“W-what’s that supposed mean?” Alyssa’s blade diminishes. The Nanos migrate toward her shoulder, coating the blood-soaked nub.
“My mind won’t let me think about Liam—it’s the same with you and Zeresh. Whenever I attempt to visualize you guys in my mind, my brain farts—”
“O-open. C. R. P. Eighty—eight.” As an ebony pouch on her right thigh peels on its own. Vapor flows over the flaps. “Inject me with the leftmost one!”
“L-left?” Derek’s fingers shuffle through the collection of vials. “Which left?”
The saucer burrows farther. Balls! I forgot this was inside me.
“There’s only five!” Alyssa’s nails dig into the lad’s arm. “My left, genius!”
“I-I-I—” his vision blackens. Legs jerk him backward, yanking Alyssandra along with him.
Her darkens as well while she collapses upon his corpse.
* * *
White flakes brush against the duo’s cheeks. Liam appears with arms folded over one another.
Alyssa folds the fingers on both hands while facing them. The girl’s eyes dart to her left arm, scanning every bit of her rose vine tattoo.
Liam’s eyelids compress as his neck drifts toward the two.
“Thanks, Liam,” Derek’s palm brushes the Stellar shell covering his belly. “We’re sorry about—”
“That was a poor excuse of teamwork,” the man shifts the rest of his body to the boy. “You almost took Alyssa out because you lacked the sense to teleport beside her during your fall—”
“It was twice he nearly finished me from falling—” the girl says.
“Twice, you almost offed this lass due to lack of common sense,” Alyssa’s eyes pulls Liam’s gaze. “And you, you let the android get away. Furthermore, you said, Reivscere’s secrets can burn in flames. If you pursued bee-seventeen, Derek would have been fine on his own until I got there.
“I detected his injury. I was fully aware of the situation at hand—”
“You were spying on our conversation,” the lass’ hands jack her upward. “You had no business listening in—”
“In fact, I did, lass,” Liam takes a step toward Alyssa, standing less than a foot from her. His brows arc downward, scrunching his eyes. “Upon entering Reivscere headquarters, you are subject to vocal monitoring.
“This is to prevent terrorism and theft of Reivscere’s property. It is because of you that the secrets of the Alph
a sector just ran through the hangar bay and stole a vessel.”
“Since we let the droid steal a ship and your plans,” she mashes her chest against his. “How about you pay it our bounty money also? If it can slide past you, I am confident it would fulfill your desires.”
“I do not appreciate your tone, Lass—”
“Alyssa—” Derek rises to his feet. His stare peers into the crimson broth brewing within Alyssa and Liam’s eyes. A shiver surges through the boy’s spine. “Why are we arguing? This man is offering us a fortune and gave us secrets already—”
“Thanks for the free Zeresh blood,” Alyssa makes her way toward Derek with eyes glued to his stomach.
“Since the droid is likely kilometers away by now,” the man’s lens’ transition into their normal tint. “It is useless to pursue this matter. I want the two of you to get rest for tomorrow. I will deal with bee-seventeen, myself.”
“What’s tomorrow, again?” Derek’s arms cross over one another.
“The beginning of your Gemini training,” a grin forms between Liam’s dimples, “I am going to let you two do whatever you wish. Only for the remainder of today.
“Make sure you get plenty to eat; there is enough food to feed an entire university for three months.
“Meditate—stretch—breathing exercises—do whatever it takes to prepare.”
The duo makes their way through the hangar. Eyes scan the myriad of chrome monuments. Afterward, they drift to hovering rings enveloping the vehicles.
“Oi!” Liam’s voice reflects off the ships’ surfaces.
The two shift their deflating pupils to the man.
“Time is a valuable asset. Invest it wisely.”
* * *
“Oh my!” a cluster of moist noodles slips through Derek’s lips. They slide throughout his throat with the taste of salty beef as the lubricant. “This is orgasmic!”
His hand hovers above the sea of food staring at him. It snatches a bubble tea in front of Alyssa. Lychee flavored fluids trickle across his tongue.
Rainy’s blue hair and pale face paint the insides of his mind. She strolls beside Derek on an empty street as specs of liquid strike their faces.