by Riker Kane
At the front of the hall, there was a dark-gray marble monument. About three-feet high and as wide as a small table, the block of black rock didn’t seem out of the ordinary. The words chiseled onto its face in gold ink drew my attention.
‘I am the shield that protects the innocent. I am the sword that vanquishes the evil. I will face the unknown with my head held high. No great beast will turn me away. The darkness itself will forge my path. I will fight until all of my blood is spilled and I no longer draw breath. And I will fight again. I am the first and last line between extinction and existence. I am an Omega.’
I trailed my fingers along the engraved words. It was strange. For a second, I couldn’t hear or see anything around me. I had to sigh a deep breath to shake myself out of my daze.
Quentin took a step forward and tilted his head up. His jaw dropped slightly as his eyes widened. “Wow… This is amazing.” He turned back around toward me. “We’re in the Nerve Center of an LOD District.”
I couldn’t help a chuckle. “Looks like we are.”
“You’re right on time.” I turned around to see Janice walking up with a sunny smile, clutching her digital tablet against her chest like before. “All new recruits are being directed into the Assembly Auditorium. Straight ahead through that set of double doors.”
She pointed forward then turned to speak with a couple more new recruits. I moved to Quentin, who was still looking around in amazement.
“Do you know what this means?” he said. “We’re at the center of it all. The LOD’s newest facility. We’re talking state-of-the-art science and technology… All of the best government resources are here. You can even smell it, too.” He inhaled a deep breath and sighed in contentment.
“It does kinda have that new electronics smell…”
“Doesn’t it? I think I can almost taste it, too.”
“Um… I wouldn’t go that far.” I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to bask in all of this. We won’t get very far if we’re in awe of everything we see.”
He gave me a nod and shook away his daze of amazement. We walked forward through the circular main hall. Another set of glass double doors leading to the next room slid open.
It was noticeably darker than the previous room but the lights were bright enough for me to see everything around me. Chairs were stacked up on the sides. A stage off to one side of the room was empty with the velvet curtains bunched up on both sides. Outside of the same silver walls and ceiling, there was a large digital display behind the stage as big as a movie screen. The auditorium appeared to be big enough to hold a few hundred people thought there were only a few other recruits in it at the moment.
Quentin and I walked along the polished granite tiles toward the center of the spacious room where the others were standing. The men were dressed in the same black shirt and pants as me. The women wore matching shirts but skirts instead of pants.
Everybody looked around at one another. There was an undeniable tension in the silence as everybody anxiously waited for what was next.
“Look at that,” Quentin said to me. “About the same number of men and women. Young twenty-somethings. What else do you think the requirements are to get into the program?”
I smirked. “I think the only thing that matters is you’re young and you’re breathing.”
“All shapes and sizes. I can see that.”
The doors to the assembly room opened up. Janice stepped inside with a male recruit following behind her.
“All right.” Janice looked down at her tablet and swiped her finger through it. “I’m just going to do a quick little check to make sure everybody is in attendance and we can get started… There should be twenty-four of you in this wave…” She counted everybody out then nodded. “Everybody line up. Eight rows. Three people in each row. Face the stage.”
Janice moved over to the side as everybody took their place. The auditorium was spacious enough there was more than enough room for everybody to do as they were told.
I stood at the front of a row with Quentin in the one right next to me. He kept tilting his head around like he wasn’t sure what to expect. I would have been lying to myself if I wasn’t as anxious as he was but I did my best to ignore the butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.
A few moments later, the double doors to the auditorium opened behind us. I stayed staring toward the empty stage in front of me and listened to the footsteps approaching.
Two men appeared in front of the group, one of them elderly and the other not that much younger.
The older of the two men looked out of place to everything I’d seen so far. He wore a gray vest that didn’t do a good job of hiding the stomach bulging underneath it. A pair of matching slacks led down to a pair of brown loafers. He was slightly hunched over, either from age or fatigue, as he slowly paced back and forth in front of us.
He raised his head up and peered down at us through a pair of thin, gold-framed glasses. He brushed the white bangs away from his forehead and smiled, making the wrinkles on his face even more pronounced.
“My name is Edward Layton. I’m the chancellor here at the Vegas District. I’ve been with the Legion Omega Defense ever since it first began more than forty years ago. But it never fails to make me smile when I see a new recruit.” He spoke slowly as if the words were caught in his throat. The auditorium fell silent as everybody locked their attention on him.
“I was alive during the First Event. Forty years might seem like a lifetime but I remember it like it was yesterday. Shadows suddenly appearing. Vicious beasts destroying everything in their path, taking life indiscriminately. It was the end of the world. That’s what everybody believed. But we all put our differences aside and realized we could fight back. And we’re still fighting.”
He looked down at the ground then took a step back. He chuckled softly like he was laughing at a joke he’d just thought of. His friendly smile was infectious enough I almost forgot the gravity of what he was talking about.
“I understand what it takes for you to be here today. Like all service, leaving behind your life as a civilian to become an Omega is a great sacrifice but a necessary one. I stand in front of the next generation of Omegas. You will be the ones to honor those who have fought bravely before you. You will be the ones who will fight the new threats of Pandora. You will be the ones who set the example for future Omegas. The new battle humanity must fight is not on Earth but in another dimension. It is an honor and a privilege to be selected as chancellor for the Vegas District. Know I will do everything in my power to assist all of you in what you are about to do.” He slowly turned his head toward the man next to him. “Prime Omega Serviceman Frank Campbell will serve as your senior adviser. Serviceman Campbell, if you please.”
Chancellor Layton walked over to where the other man and Janice were standing.
In comparison to Layton, the man was the polar opposite. His head was shaved clean with the only hair on his face the white goatee cropped around his mouth. He marched forward with a rigidness like there was an entire golf club up his ass. The pleats in his black pants were straight. The collar on his button-up shirt was so stiff it looked like it was made of plastic. What looked like five stars, made of brass or copper or some other brown metal, were pinned in a line on the left side of his shirt.
I figured he was in his fifties or so, but his physique seemed fitter than most men his age. The sword hanging from his built was probably the most intimidating thing about him. About a meter long, it was thin and straight. The metal glistened from the lights like it was freshly polished. The hilt was a dull black but at the top of it where it met the blade, there was a blue jewel shining bright enough I had to notice it.
I was sure everybody was examining it the same as I was because he just stood right in front of us with his hands behind his back. His narrowing eyes were the only part of him that moved. A piercing, gray-eyed gaze like he was trying to burn a hole through us. I got a better look
and noticed some of the scars on his wrinkled, leathery cheeks. There was no doubt the guy had been through something. He didn’t have to say a word to make that clear.
“My name is Frank Campbell. I will be the adviser of your group.” He clenched his jaw like someone talked when they were trying not to get mad. “Chancellor Layton speaks of your importance. He talks about the honor and privilege to lead you. But that’s his job. My job is to tell you it’s you who should be honored and privileged to even be standing in this building.
“I will not baby you. I will not coddle you. I will not lie to you and tell you this will be easy or fun. This will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. This will not be your first opportunity but I will give one to you now.” He raised his hand up and pointed toward the doors behind us. “Turn around. Walk away. You can leave. There’s no shame. No one will judge you.”
The recruits looked around at one another. There was some concern in everybody’s eyes. A few anxious swallows and murmurs broke the silence but everybody stayed in their place, turning their attention back to Campbell.
The bald man’s lips twitched into a smirk for only a second before he nodded. “You’re here because humanity is facing the greatest threat it’s ever seen. That means this is the greatest challenge you’ll ever meet. But when all is said and done, if you push yourself, you will be on the frontlines in Pandora.”
“Sweet!” One of the recruits in the front row suddenly spoke up. He pumped his fist as everybody turned their attention to him.
Campbell raised an eyebrow and slowly walked up to him. That didn’t deter the recruit from bouncing in his place.
“Enthusiasm,” Campbell said as he approached him. “That’s what I like to see. What’s your name, son?”
“Elliot Gill.”
Elliot didn’t look much different from most of the guys I saw back in college. A blond, crop top haircut straight out of the 90s. Thin nose. Pointed chin. A skinny frame apparent even underneath his uniform. He nodded with a split-toothed grin as Campbell moved right in front of him. Elliot was a few inches shorter and half as wide but wasn’t the least bit intimidated by the man staring down at him.
“Cadet Gill… You think you have what it takes to be an Omega?”
“I do.”
“You think you have what it takes to head to Pandora and fight Shadows?”
“You better believe it! Just give me one of those swords and I’ll kick some ass.”
“You ever handle a saber before?”
“No but I think I could.” He shrugged. “You swing it like a bat. The blade does all the work. What could be so hard about it?”
“Hmm…” Campbell smirked as he raised the sword from his hip. “I bet you can’t wait to get your hands on one of these. Stick your hand out, Gill. Open your palm.”
Elliot enthusiastically did as he was told. Campbell held the blade up to his own face. He suddenly turned it down with a flick of his wrist then drove the tip of his sword clean through Elliot’s palm. The blade moved so fast there was a split-second before there was any blood.
“Ahh!” Elliot squealed in pain as the blood trickled down the blade and onto the floor.
“Holy shit!” Quentin muttered.
The other recruits gasped and took a step back at the sight. I nearly fell over, blinking my eyes in disbelief.
Campbell drew his weapon back and Elliot collapsed to the floor, clutching his wrist and staring at the blood pouring down his palm. “Baker,” Campbell said to Janice. “Take Cadet Gill to the Med Bay.”
“Yes, sir.” Janice nodded and moved to help Elliot back up to his feet. The blond whimpered in pain as he walked out of the auditorium. The recruits were still murmuring in shock as Campbell suddenly barked.
“If you are afraid of being hurt, you will not wield the weapons of an Omega. Now… Let’s see if you have what it takes. Follow Baker and Gill to the Med Bay.”
Everybody looked at one another in confusion before turning around and walking out of the auditorium.
Quentin moved next to me and did his best to keep his voice down. “Do you think the offer to leave is still on the table? I don’t know if I’ll like what’s waiting for us in the Med Bay…”
I sighed and gave him a shrug. “There’s only one way to find out.”
4: Red, Blue, Green
A short trip through the first floor of the Nerve Center led us to the Med Bay. Just a glance was enough to realize how advanced the medical facility was.
Digital touchscreens with images made up the wall entirely. A closer inspection of the crystal displays and I was able to make out the digital outline of a body. Next to the outline were lines of different numbers that appeared to be someone’s vital signs.
More state-of-the-art equipment and machines were too strange for me to figure out what they did. I only knew they were fancy because I’d never seen anything like them before. Test tubes and beakers. Responsive touchscreens. Standing scanning units big enough to fit an entire person inside of. Even the chairs and tables had a pristine sheen to them.
The doctors roaming around in their white lab coats didn’t appear much different from a civilian doctor. Each one of them examined a recruit and performed routine physical tests on them.
I stood in the primary room of the Med Bay, looking at all of the displays on the walls. I took a closer look at the vital signs popping up on one of the screens next to a recruit being checked and recognized one of the numbers.
“HP… Does that mean what I think it means?”
Janice moved next to me and nodded. “Hit points. The best way to measure someone’s consciousness. Any damage you take. Cuts. Bruises. A bad fall. That’s your HP. When it drops to zero, you’re out.” She snapped her fingers. “After that, you’re in danger. Though you shouldn’t worry too much. I can’t recall a time when someone was lost in Pandora, even when their HP has dropped to zero.”
“I don’t think I have to travel to Pandora to get into any trouble.” I looked across the Med Bay where a doctor worked a medical device over Elliot’s hand. “Campbell just pulled his sword and stabbed him like it was nothing. It seems kinda extreme to make a point.”
“I’d agree. But what you’re about to do isn’t simple. Adviser Campbell had to make it clear. I assume he got his point across.” Janice gave me a grin that almost made me uncomfortable.
“He got his point across, all right…”
“Don’t worry. Ensign Gill will have his hand restored as good as new with a dermal regenerator. Adviser Campbell doesn’t have any more surprises in store for you. Consider this part of your orientation a little less intense.”
“That’s a relief,” I sighed. “I didn’t expect to get into it so fast.”
I turned toward the doctor approaching me. A blond woman with her glossy hair tied up in a neat bun over her head peered through her glasses. She didn’t look as old as some of the other doctors. Late-twenties I figured.
Her white lab jacket covered her completely but she appeared thin beneath it. Her nose was small but pointed and her green eyes were narrowed. A badge in her chest pocket had her identification.
“This is Doctor Alina Marchal,” Janice said. “She’s the lead medical director here at the Vegas District. She’ll be conducting your initial examination.”
Dr. Marchal glanced at her digital tablet and swiped her dainty finger along it. “Liam Aldridge. Right this way.” She spun around and clicked her heels to the other side of the room. I followed her past all of the other recruits then moved to the side of the room, next to the crystal display on the wall. She pressed a button and the lower compartment on the wall slowly came out in the form of a metal chair. “Have a seat.”
I followed her instructions, glancing at the display while she prepared her equipment.
“I’ll need to take a blood sample,” she said. “You’ll feel a slight prick. Let me know if it bothers you.”
“Considering what I just saw Campbell do, I don’t mind a needle
.”
Dr. Marchal swiped my right forearm clean with some alcohol then pushed the needle into one of my veins. “Adviser Campbell does have a reputation for being a bit overzealous.”
“That’s an understatement,” I sighed as I stared at the display on the screen.
The blond doctor didn’t stop there. She smiled softly at me, slight wrinkles appearing on the fair skin of her cheeks as she placed a breathing mask over my face.
“This is to test your current lung capacity.” She strapped a cuff around my arm. “And this is to test your heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle endurance. Just breathe normally and relax while the machines do the work.”
I stared at the outline of a body on the display next to me and my details appeared.
Liam Aldridge
Age: 21
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 165 pounds
The information Dr. Marchal mentioned appeared beneath it. Lines pointing to different parts of my body and more numbers showed up.
“There we are.” She unstrapped my arm then took the mask away from my face. The last thing she did was pull the needle from my vein before bandaging me.
“Dr. Marchal…” I narrowed my eyes at the display. “What am I looking at exactly? This isn’t like any other physical I’ve ever taken before.”
She bowed her head and walked over to the screen. She pointed one of her long fingers at the numbers.
“We have the means to measure your capabilities with greater precision than we ever have before. How far you can run before getting tired. How hard you can throw a punch. How high you can jump. How much someone can hit you before you lose consciousness. All of it is measured in these numbers.”
I took in the information on the screen as best as I could while Dr. Marchal explained it.
Liam Aldridge
Level 1 Private Serviceman
(50 Red Mana until next level)
Hit Points 100