by Dawn Chapman
He looked at me. “Kyle Ranz, basic foot soldier.”
“Basic, what the fuck?” she asked, then her gaze drifted all over me. She was totally checking me out. What?
“Nehi, didn’t you see his melee kill? Thought it best to squirrel him away before he was taken for other duties or re-rolled.”
“A foot about to respawn if he’d have pushed it anymore. Fuck, guys!” She reached behind her for a small backpack and pulled out some kind of small packet. She handed it to me.
CARB BAR QUALITY = GOOD
Oh, thank God! I tore open the wrapper and shoved it in my mouth without a break, my health bar filling as I swallowed. A rush of new energy coming with it.
“Nice job!” She glanced back at me. “Showers to the left. Get clean, we’re third in the roster for rations. You don’t want to be late.”
I watched as the other two guys went for the showers while she hung back, still obviously wanting to talk to the boss.
I didn’t know any of their names or anything about them, but it was clear they didn’t care much who I was.
I followed them into the shower rooms, watched as they strapped their weapons into named slots in the wall. The older guy’s name was Derk. The younger one was Reece.
“Take this one. It was Mallik’s,” Reece said.
“Wait, won’t he respawn?” I asked.
Reece’s face fell. “There’s penalties for too many in one area. No, he was at his limit. He will not be coming back here. He’ll be sent elsewhere. Punishment.”
That was harsh. “How many times?”
“Ten, you get ten per location,” Derk answered.
I moved to the assigned locker and slid the gun inside. I watched as Mallik’s name faded from the locker, replaced by mine. Taking my dagger from its sheath, I saw where I could put it and did so. Then I removed my clothes, though there was nowhere to put them.
“Chute is here.” Derk pointed towards a flap at the far side of the room.
“Thanks.” I took my clothes over to the chute, pushing them through the flap and down the shaft. Maybe they’d come back clean, or we’d get others issued?
I didn’t mean to listen in, but the guys’ conversation wasn’t hard to track while they showered. Through this I learned the names of the others. The commander was Rytin. Rytin was Russian, I was sure, but I didn’t know where the others had come from. I was intrigued, wondering what level they were to me. Why couldn’t I see their level? What had they really wanted from me?
The guys’ conversation died off, and they left. I hadn’t been paying attention to actually washing, so I hurried up, soaping my hair quickly and ducking in to shower it off.
That’s when I heard a soft sound and splash behind me. Nehi joined me with a nod. I gulped, seeing water cascade down long black hair, over the curve of her ass. Feeling myself reacting in a way that, at this moment, I really didn’t want to, I forced my view to the wall to think of anything else. The naked pert body getting wet next to me kept drawing my eyes back to it.
Breathing in and out, I asked, “Been here long?”
She laughed, and it was intoxicating. Really not what I wanted. “You have no idea,” she said.
“I’d like to…” I fumbled my words, trying to finish washing off. “I mean, I want to have an idea.”
I caught the scent of sweet fruitiness and turned to see her soaping her hair. The trail led down between her breasts over taut abs.
Fuck, I had to get out of here. So I did, I rushed from the shower to my locker, where I found fresh clothes. Slightly better, leather gear and boots. Thank goodness. There was a mirror against the wall, and I moved to it to finally check out who I was. I was shocked at the change.
Dark hair, much longer than I’d ever had before. I tugged it. That wouldn’t do. Seeing a set of scissors, I did the one thing that could make me stand out here. I chopped it much shorter.
When I moved to their living space a few moments later, I caught their laughs before I stepped inside. “You set that up?”
Reece laughed all the more. “My sister did.”
“Aw, sorry. Just wanted to take a look at the newbie,” Nehi said, walking in behind me, hair in a towel. “Now you’re all clean, let’s get a better look.”
She sashayed around me, taking in my every detail. I felt weird, like a dog at a show. When she ran her hand across the top of my head, tugging my hair, I shivered. They all watched her, then she walked to Rytin.
“He is one of them,” she said. “I can’t see anything at all. Even with my extra skills.”
“One of what?” I asked. But she didn’t answer me. Then given the look of the others, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what one of them was.
“You’re sure?” Rytin asked. She nodded once and moved to sit down, drying her hair. “Good work, Nehi.”
Derk spoke then, giving Rytin a glare. “You realise you took him in already. You put us all at risk.”
“I need information, seeing as we can’t read without permission.” Rytin looked at me. “Tell me about yourself, kid.”
Read me? Nice, then Shade Brain really did work! But on their continued glares I swallowed. “My name’s...” Fuck, he already knew that. I stammered out, “I’m eighteen. Failed my exams, now I’m here.”
“Eighteen? Damn, still bringing them in so young.”
“Do you know where you are?”
I wasn’t sure I liked the full interrogation, but I answered. “In Gridon? Sakron’s the only spawn planet I know for sure, but I’m guessing this isn’t that one.” It really was a guess.
“You’re in Gridon, yes. Not on Sakron, though. This is Tolsa.” I hadn’t heard of that one.
A little ping sounded in my head, and a 3D star map showed up. I looked at it, seeing roughly where I was compared to Sakron. It looked a fair few light-years apart.
Nehi looked shocked.
“Rye, he just accessed a map,” she said and tucked a strand of her still wet hair behind an ear. “What’s going on?”
“How’d you get a map already?” Derk asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I don’t understand any of this or this world.”
“We’re Delta 81, a level ten to twenty base,” Rytin said. “We house over a thousand soldiers and mech warriors. We’re on the outskirts of the city of Vansk. Our primary mission is to prevent any incursions from getting past this, their first defence.”
“You’re a level ten to twenty base? And there’s no newbies here?” I ran my hand over the goose bumps that had sprouted over my arms. “What’s the lowest actual rank?”
“Duh, ten,” Derk said, pushing off the couch.
I thought about my level. Basic as—“Why the fuck am I here then? I’m not even level five, let alone ten!”
“Damned good question.” Rytin frowned, stretching his long legs out on the couch now that Derk wasn’t sitting there. “None of us know. You have a skill, Shade Brain, and you seem to have more than enough actual skills. Your manoeuvre with the M-Wolf. That’s something I don’t encounter often.”
“Commander, I–” I was going to lie, anything to help me out, but Derk interrupted.
“He’s no more a commander than I am,” Derk laughed.
“Oh.” I felt like a fool, yet I didn’t stand down. It was obvious to me who in the room wore the lead without the title.
“We need to keep up appearances, Kyle.” Rytin considered me, then glanced to the door as a yellow light flashed above it. “Food time. Stick with us. You’ll get fewer questions.”
The others quickly left the room. But I waited for him to stand.
“You look like you’re gonna be useful to have around. This helped me to start with. You can have it,” he said, then reached out and pulled something from the side of his neck. “Call it whatever you wish. A thank you for saving my ass from that M-Wolf. Or call it just a welcome to Delta 81. It will give you more information about the base and keep you safer longer if you’re planning on stickin
g around.”
I took it from him and its details came up for me.
TRANSFERABLE - DATA CHIP - MAP - ALL KNOWN LOCATIONS ON TOLSA
“Thanks,” I said as he walked out the door. Not really knowing what to do with it, I presumed I had a slot in my neck like where he had taken it from?
Following him, I made sure I fingered the side of my neck to find out. There was indeed a slot. I remembered all the stories of what the bodies were going to be like on the opposite side of the universe. I mean I didn’t expect to be shipped out on an actual spaceship. Though we did have them, they weren’t for traversing distances like I just had. No, the bodies were grown in vats, just like the ones I’d woken in. I knew it. I just didn’t feel like I’d been grown. I felt normal, if a little weak.
With a slight push, I slipped the chip inside myself with a grunt.
EXTERNAL DATA FOUND - DELTA 81 WOULD YOU LIKE TO DOWNLOAD?
Y/N
I hit the Yes, and when nothing happened, ran after Rytin. The smell of food wafted towards me. Finally, I felt something other than exhaustion and pain. I felt relief.
“There’s a lot of people in here. If you’re approached by anyone who has a gold stud here,” Rytin tapped his collar, “do as they ask. Anyone else can go fuck themselves, all right?”
“Got it.”
When he walked through the doors, he wasn’t kidding. I hesitated for a split second at the sheer volume of people. The room itself contained a few hundred people already, and the line for food was pretty long. It reminded me of some of the older movies, with school dinners and the long lines queuing for miles. I tried not to feel intimidated. But I was.
This was worse than any school I’d ever been to and I hoped every day wasn’t going to be like this. I didn’t need to feel out of depth or think I showed it—I was more than sure I was.
Rytin looked to me, and I met his stare. “Kyle, they can’t tell what rank you are. As much as I am concerned about your arrival and about who you are, they won’t. They’ll only think you’re a Shade. That you’re a proven soldier. Don’t let nerves get in your way, or someone will challenge you, just to test you out.”
Following Rytin’s example of confidence, I swallowed and walked straight behind him; if anyone looked my way, I stared right back. This was a new life, after all. I always had more confidence in games. I mean, I couldn’t actually die, right? I’d just respawn. Even if I hit ten respawns here, it would just be somewhere else, right?
I saw the others, together we joined the queue and waited for our turn. Once we got to the front of it, I was pleasantly surprised not to find just old-school slop. It looked fairly decent. But there was no choice, it was dished out regimentally, and I presumed it was all the body needed here. Or if we needed more, maybe we could buy things, I was interested to learn more.
Rytin placed his finger to a panel, and when a tray spat out for him, I watched him as he moved down, making sure I did the same thing as he did.
“Access denied,” the voice rang back at me.
“Fucking noob piece of shit. Get out the queue and quit jumping your time slot,” the guy behind me shouted.
I looked around, suddenly seeing a ton of eyes looking my way. I held my ground.
Before I could reply, Rytin was at my side.
“My fault,” he said to the guy. “I forget it takes twenty-eight hours to sync.”
He placed his thumb to the panel this time, and I waited for the tray. “Thanks,” I mumbled.
It was pretty clear the guy behind me wasn’t happy. I noted him waving to one of the guards stationed by several of the doors.
Rytin pointed to a set of tables, and the others sat down. I moved to take the seat next to him, and he smiled. “Just stay calm. I’ll handle it if they come over.”
I watched as the others dug into their food. I wanted to do the same, but my mind was focused on the guards now standing together and pointing towards us. In the end though, the smell of the food won, and I picked up my fork to start to eat.
There was a nice taste to it, and I admit I had soon wolfed the lot.
Nehi laughed and pushed the rest of her plate over to me. “I forgot what it’s like to taste this for the first time. Here take some extra. You did great in the field out there, Kyle.”
A little guilty I took the plate from her. I said, “I did what I could, that’s all.”
“No, you did more than most would or could have. Most ranks wouldn’t have reacted for fear of respawn. That would have meant that not only would we have lost Mallik, but possibly Rytin as well. I think they’d have re-assigned us all if that had been the case, so I personally thank you for keeping me with my brother.” She glanced to Reece with a soft smile.
“You both failed your exams?”
“Hell, no,” she said. “We signed up for this when they were asking for volunteers.”
I stopped eating and swallowed it all, choking on the chunk of meat that I didn’t chew enough. “You’re serious? You signed up for this?”
“It was one of the military signups, yes. Rytin was a different kind of volunteer. What kind of exams did you fail to get here?” She sucked on a straw inside her drink, and I looked to Rytin, who shook his head. There was something going on here I didn’t know about, but off Rytin’s reaction, he also didn’t want me to tell her what exams I’d failed.
“Several different ones, mostly tech, engineering.” I shrugged and waited for another question to follow, but it didn’t. Instead, her eyes tracked movement from the side of the room. I didn’t need to see it to know that the guards were now making their way over towards us. I hoped they wouldn’t be high enough of a level to see past my Shade Brain.
When I saw who was coming over, I frowned on the inside. If there could have been a more intimidating person to come my way, I’d eat the damned plate in front of me as well as the food. I didn’t know what to do. Would I just blow it all for these guys now after they’d taken me in?
The larger of the two guards stopped before Rytin, his skin tone much darker than ours; his height and bulk told me he was already way above any levels in this group. His dark skin, his face seemingly more angular than ours also made him stand out. The uniform he wore, sharp, and there sparkling in the light, a gold pin. When he spoke, it was deep and crystal clear, “IDs.” He held out his computer pad for Rytin.
Rytin reached forwards with his finger out. I watched as the guard allowed him to touch the pad, and I could see the data being displayed for all of us on it. Me included, now. But I could see it from here; it said Shade Brain. He tossed Rytin a questioning look. Rytin tapped the side of his head.
“Nothing? No details at all?” The guard said, “I should take him in. You know that, right?”
“No, he’s bigger than us.” Rytin countered. “You can’t.”
Was he really talking about me like that? I cringed, listening in. I didn’t want my cover blown, even if I didn’t know what exactly that cover was for yet.
“You can’t know that.” The guard growled at him. “But, I have to.”
Rytin held out his hand. “Trust me, Borix. This hasn’t happened on our side in over twenty years. A respawn with Shade Brain. Who is to say what his underlying missions are? Why else would he be shaded?”
“Since when did you get rights to pluck someone off the field?” Borix asked.
Rytin removed his finger. His face never faltered, nor did his voice show any emotion at all. “You know my job, and it was my right the moment Mallik took the hit and went down for good,” he said. “I didn’t have time to regroup or reassign anyone, and Kyle stepped in as a foot soldier without orders or recourse for his life against a full-frontal from an M-Wolf.”
“I’m surprised he even managed to stay alive.”
“Someone who is a natural at fighting isn’t uncommon, Borix.”
Borix glanced my way, then disapprovingly looked me up and down.
I then noticed something else, I could read his stats. Was
he showing me on purpose?
Name - Borix Veti
Species - Pure Denti
Class – Paladin
Age = 40’s
Level 62 = Journeyman
Memories = 100%
Health = 98%
Kenosi = Level 72
Nanites x 1,721,621
All natural statistics
Skin Strength = 62
Blood Capacity = 78
Healing Speed = 92
Strength = 124
Dexterity = 61
Constitution = 136
Intelligence = 56
Wisdom = 129
Charisma = 56
Luck = 58
His stats were so strange. They didn’t make any sense with his level.
I was confused and worried. But adding things up I realised he was showing double the stats that we could, interesting. But how? Was he cheating?
“You have no idea who he is,” Borix said to Rytin. “He’s a Shade. I would suggest getting another grunt; this one’s not fit to be on your team.”
Rytin didn’t look away from him. “I’m good. Thanks for your concern.”
Borix moved away, not taking his eyes away from Rytin till he was almost ready to turn. Then his eyes locked with mine.
“I’m watching you,” he mouthed. Then he was gone.
“What an asshole,” Nehi spat when he was out of ear range.
“He may be an asshole, but when you’re in training tomorrow, who will you be following?” Derk laughed.
“Borix,” Rytin said. “He’s the main’s lead for all missions out of the base. If you want to gain levels, catch up to us, get out of here with more and more opportunities to better yourself, and get away from the front lines? You have to keep him on your good side.”
“Seriously,” I sighed. “After what he said, you want me to be his friend?”
“Well, not exactly, but he’s going to be the one who will push you more, who will make sure you’re going to be the best you can be. When we’re in the yard tomorrow, don’t mess about if he pits you against someone a few levels higher than you.”