by Riker Kane
He held his hand out and swiped the touchscreen on his communicator. Red energy swirled in his palm before taking the shape of an orb the size of an orange.
“You get a Red Mana bonus as well.”
I reached out and absorbed the Mana into my communicator. “That’s always useful… Say… Since nobody is allowed in the Junction, this is the only way to level up. Is there any chance I can go for another star now?”
Hamilton nodded and moved back to the digital display at the front of the room. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. He let the voice over the loudspeaker do all the talking.
“Bronze Star Rank Examination. Level three. Combat initiated.”
~ ~ ~
“Shit!”
I stood at the front of the training lab, peeking over Captain Bell’s massive pauldrons as I watched Quentin moved around on the grid. My squadmate lumbered around as flying drones descended upon him.
Even though Quentin’s Vanguard armor made him more formidable than any other class, he moved around with quickness and agility that would’ve been surprising if I hadn’t fought alongside him.
His shield over his frame, he rammed into the drones coming at him. They exploded into dust before they could raise their cannons and fire. When he wasn’t fast enough to slam into them, he raised his shield up to block any projectiles.
The examination lasted longer than I would have completed it, mostly because of his lack of offensive options, but Quentin didn’t appear to have taken any damage when the female voice came over the speaker.
“Bronze Star Rank Examination level four completed.”
Captain Bell moved to the center of the grid and slapped Quentin on the arm. “Nice job, cadet!”
“Thanks,” Quentin sighed.
“One more exam and you’ll max out at Bronze.”
“No thanks. I… I think I’m done for today.”
“What? You just barely started.”
“Captain Bell, I really think I need a breather.”
“…Fine, fine. Bronze exams are easy. Make sure you get back in here when you catch your breath. The sooner you rank up, the greater the benefits. Don’t wimp out on me now.”
Quentin walked over to me. Despite how hunched over he was along with the exhaustion on his face, the sight of him was enough to make me smile.
“You all right?” I asked.
“I just need a break, that’s all. I just finished four exams straight.”
“Same here. It’s about time for lunch anyway.”
“Lunch. The magic word.”
~ ~ ~
The main dining hall in the Nerve Center was large enough to fit a hundred people at the same time. Not that there was ever that many people anyway. During lunchtime, there were cadets who’d rather spend their time enjoying the weather in the Central Square. The LOD scientists and engineers were all busy making sure the facility was running properly.
The silver steel walls were a lot more polished and the floors were spotless, too. But the atmosphere wasn’t much different from a high school lunchroom, with the dozens who were here managing to fill the place with endless chatter.
“Nina’s really taking that hyperbaric training pretty seriously,” Quentin said. “Do you think she might be overdoing it?”
“They’ve got machines and Dr. Marchel herself overseeing everything. I’m pretty sure she’ll be all right. We should work on endurance after this.”
“No kidding. Beating up on some drones is easy but it gets pretty exhausting after awhile. It’s worth it though. Can’t wait to get my armor back from Gage to see the extra stars branded into it.”
He took a bite of his turkey sandwich and grinned. I’d never seen such satisfaction on his face before.
“So what is it?” I asked. “The extra stipend. The Red Mana bonus. The new abilities opening up in the shop. Why are you excited about ranking up?”
“Probably the armor. I mean, it’ll look pretty sweet with four stars stamped on it, right? I should’ve probably waited and finished the last one before giving Gage my armor…”
“Hmm… We’ve been focused on Junctions so much, I forgot how much you care about the prestige.”
He stuffed some french fries into his mouth and shrugged. “Why not?” he said with a mouthful. “I mean, everything here is being measured. The Shadows we kill. The Junctions we close. I can look down at my wrist and see how many levels I’ve gained. Getting a higher-rank is like getting a nice big, fat A+ on your report card.”
“When you put it like that…”
He chugged on some soda to wash his bite down and sighed. The smile left his face suddenly as he shifted his eyes toward one of the crowded tables next to us.
“You remember how I said my brothers were the successful ones? I wasn’t very popular in school either. Yeah, I know. Hard to believe, right? But it’s not all about being popular. Rich. Successful. Smart. Good-looking. Talented. I wasn’t any of those things either. I was just… lost in the crowd. I wasn’t even average…”
I gave him a reassuring smile. “I’ve only got one older half-brother… but I think I know what you’re saying.”
“I know you do. To be honest, I joined the Legion because I figured it’d be a chance for me to do something big. Now I’m starting to think this is what I’m best at. I couldn’t have done it without you or Nina. The more I think about it, the more I feel like I have a place I belong.”
He took another sip of soda and laughed. “Shit, man.” He shook his head. “I didn’t mean to get all mushy on you like that again. I was just thinking about what’s going on. With Campbell telling us to gear up, I feel like I’m really on the right path.”
“I feel the same way.”
“No point in thinking too much about it now though. We gotta level up. Rank up. Gear up. Whatever it takes.”
“…I’m proud of you, Quentin.”
Quentin went back to being as nonchalant as he always was, taking another bite of his sandwich and following it up with some french fries. I almost thought he didn’t hear me. But he gulped some soda and sighed to clear his throat.
“Thanks… Thanks for always listening…”
“I wouldn’t be much of a squad leader if I didn’t.” I took a bite of my own sandwich and felt my communicator vibrate against my arm.
SYNERGY with LIAM ALDRIDGE
Nina Higashi - Level 2: +3 increase to speed
Quentin Young - Level 3: 10% damage resistance
Paige Costa - Level 2: 5% increase to saber damage
Brooke Silvestri - Level 3: 10% increase to saber damage
I held back a smile as I read the display.
“Nina’s got the right idea with her training,” Quentin said suddenly. “Without the Junctions, we don’t have many options for leveling up.”
“There are other ways to get stronger. We’ll figure something out and then we’ll be ready for anything.”
37: All Quiet in the Central Square
Liam Aldridge
Level 23 Bronze 4-Star Cavalier
(1150 Red Mana until next level)
Hit Points 100
Endurance 55 (+5)
Strength 18 (+1)
Speed 16 (+1)
Durability 15 (+2)
Control 11 (+1)
“Damn…”
I ignored the gains from my last-leveling up session and focused on the endurance boost. More than four hours with a mask over my face resulted in a five-point increase and enough exhaustion to leave me tired for the rest of the day.
Quentin stood next to me. He put his hands on his hips to keep from falling over. His chest heaved with deep breaths.
“This better be worth it.” He glanced at the display on his communicator. “Five points… It doesn’t seem like it’ll make much of a difference…”
“You can’t expect to see big gains after one training session. We’re gonna have to keep this up.”
“It’s not about the gains though. We’ve been
sitting around here since lunchtime. The sun has gone down. How are we gonna make the time to do this again?”
“Considering the Junction Room is closed, we don’t have much of a choice.”
“I guess you’re right… I think we should take a break though. Who knew sitting around breathing through a mask would be so tiring?”
We both turned toward Nina as she emerged from her chamber in the Med Bay. Some beads of sweat dripped from her forehead. Her cheeks were slightly flushed against her fair skin. She took a deep breath but it was hard to tell she just went through what we did. Even her uniform managed not to wrinkle as much.
“I don’t know how you do it,” Quentin said. “Sitting around and just breathing into that thing while your energy slowly slips away.”
“It’s no different from you sitting in front of your PC,” she replied.
“At least I’ve got something to do to keep me occupied… Say… You think Dr. Marchal will let me set something up while I’m in there? Then again, I probably wouldn’t have the strength to do much…”
I chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s already past 1800 hours. We’ve all had a long day. I say we take it easy for the rest of the night.”
“No argument from me. Nina?”
The redhead nodded in agreement, already recovered from her time in the chamber.
~ ~ ~
Inside the Internet cafe in the Central Square, cadets occupied all of the PCs available. Some of them were busy gaming with each other. Just from the way they mouthed to each other, I knew the trash talk was flying. Others sat quietly with earbuds in while they relaxed to whatever videos YouTube recommended to them.
The night was as peaceful as it always with the weather just as perfect. There was some chatter from the cadets at the other tables but for the most part, everybody kept the conversation to themselves. The cadets lounging on the grassy area at the center of the Central Square dozed off to sleep beneath the stars.
I sat just outside with Nina and Quentin. Quentin slumped in his chair, his eyes flickering as he stared at the cafe next to us. “I kinda miss it,” he said. “Sitting for hours in front of my PC.”
“And now?”
“Now? Now I’m too tired from leveling up myself that I can’t imagine having to level up another character. I can barely raise my arms. But… I think I can make an exception.”
The aroma of the herbs and meat on the pizza wasn’t enough to keep him slumped for too long. He dangled the lines of cheese from his slice into his mouth and took a healthy bite. I chuckled at his bulging cheeks before taking a bite for myself. The smell of our dinner made me forget about everything going on for a moment.
Nina sat silently as she stared off into the distance. It was obvious something was on her mind but I wasn’t about to bother her about it. Not when Quentin was in such a good mood.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said with a mouthful. “I got one more Mastery Exam before I max-out. I was thinking about talking to Bell and going for Silver.”
“You can’t go for Silver until you’re level 30.” Nina slowly turned toward him. “You’ve acquired just as much Red Mana as I have. You’re not at 30.”
“I’m pretty sure I can make it to 30.”
“You can’t.”
“I can… Look…” He glanced at his communicator display and swiped through it. “Let’s see here. I’m at level 17 right now… I got orbs from the exams… One more orb should push me up to…”
He suddenly sighed. The realization he couldn’t make it dawned on him. The frown on his face didn’t last for long as he took another bite of pizza. “Why do they gatekeep us like that? I mean, if we’re good enough to make it to max-stars, shouldn’t we be allowed to rank up?”
“There’s a difference between your rank and how many stars you have,” Nina said. “Bronze, Silver, Gold. They’re all labels to indicate your status as an Omega. The higher your rank, the more access you have to the next level of abilities, weapons, and armor. The Class Captains will also be willing to teach you new techniques.”
“And what about the stars?” I asked.
“The stars are an indication of your proficiency with what you already have. A 1-Star Bronze has access to nearly everything a 5-Star does. The stars are more of a measure of capability.”
“That explains why I didn’t have much trouble with the exams. I’ve done enough thrusting and slashing in the Junctions that I don’t even think about it anymore.”
“That’s the idea. When you get to higher ranks, there’ll be more to think about. That’s where the difficulty comes in.”
“Doesn’t matter to me,” Quentin said. “I think I’ve got being a Vanguard figured out.” He stuffed the rest of his slice into his mouth and dusted his hands off proudly. Nina and I laughed at how smug he was with himself.
I was in the middle of another slice when Paige walked up next to me. “Hi, Liam… I’m not bothering you, am I?”
“Just having a meal with the squad. What’s up?”
“There’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“Sure… Pull up a chair.”
She took a seat next to me and looked around like she was making sure nobody was looking. “There are rumors going around. They said you managed to find a Herald. An actual talking Shadow. Is it true?”
I looked at Quentin and Nina even though the decision was mine to make. None of them seemed to object.
I turned back to Paige and nodded. “It was a Herald, all right. We managed to kill him.”
“It’s true… I heard stories about the Herald. Most people think they’re just mindless monsters from another dimension trying to kill us. But it makes sense something is actually behind all of this.”
“That’s a good thing,” Quentin said. “Now we might be able to figure out what the hell is going on and put these assholes to sleep for good.”
“Be careful,” Nina said. “The Shadows in the higher-level Junctions won’t be such a pushover.”
Elliot suddenly walked up to our table and grabbed a chair. The blond plopped down and looked at all of us with a maniacal enthusiasm in his eyes. “I heard the big secret,” he said. “Turns out Liam here found a Herald.”
“Not much of a secret now…” Quentin muttered as he took another bite of pizza.
“Word on the street is the officials are freaking out. Everybody in the Nerve Center is setting up some gigantic operation.”
“Where did you hear this?” Paige asked.
“That’s the word going around. I’ll tell you what, taking down that Basilisk was pretty damn satisfying. But filling a Herald with some lead… That’ll be even sweeter. Say, Liam. I heard you shanked a Herald up with your saber. What was that like?”
I chuckled at Elliot’s growing enthusiasm. “Are all Gunrunners like you?” I asked.
“Wanting to do their part? Being the best Omega they can be? Then yeah, we’re all like that.”
“…Fighting a Herald is harder. They’re not mindless beasts with a predictable attack pattern. I couldn’t get my saber into him without my squad. Something tells me he won’t just stand there while you shoot him.”
“That’s what they all say. Nobody can outrun an energy bullet though. It’s funny… I came here because I wanted a sword. Now I realize the old saying is true. The gun is mightier than the sword.”
“Isn’t that about pens?” Paige said.
“Guns are mightier than pens, too. What’s your point?”
We all shared a laugh with one another. Even with an unknown operation on the horizon, there was no tension at the table.
“We don’t know what’s going on,” Nina said. “All we can do is prepare and wait until they inform us what’s next and we’re heading back through Junctions. I say we enjoy this time as much as we can.”
“I can agree to that,” Elliot said as he grabbed a slice of pizza and took a bite out of it. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Quentin rolled his eyes and s
ighed. “The next pizza’s on you.”
~ ~ ~
“Wait a second… You’re really a model?” Elliot leaned forward in his seat, his eyes wide like a teenager who took a wrong turn on the Internet. “You got any pictures on you?”
“Why would I have any pictures on me?” Nina said.
“Because you’re a model. You know, I got a good idea for a photoshoot. You, an Omega, posing in the Central Square. Think about it. The fountain. The park area. The Nerve Center as the background. Tell me that’s not a good idea.”
“It’s a good idea. I’m sure the Legion would love to allow me to take photos of their top-secret facility.”
“Ha!” Quentin leaned back in his seat, his face pointed to the sky as he cackled.
“I’m telling you,” Elliot said. “Models are a dime-a-dozen. But a model who’s an Omega… That’ll get the boys gawking.”
“I’m sure that’s exactly what she wants,” Paige said.
“Hey, when you’ve got it, flaunt it.”
After a few more pizzas, the conversation had degenerated enough that nobody was thinking about what was on the horizon. While Nina continued to humor Elliot with all of his crazy ideas, Quentin kept stuffing his face as he tried to contain his amusement.
I looked over at Paige and noticed she was staring off to the side.
“Are you all right?” I put a hand on her shoulder and she jerked her head back toward me.
“I’m fine.” Her soft smile was always so polite. It was hard to imagine someone like her ever getting upset. “It’s just… There’s something… Do you mind if we talk for a second?”
We both got up from our seats and walked near the grassy park area where the students were sprawled out.
“What’s up?” I said.
“It’s been a while since we first arrived. Long enough that I’m not thinking about what it was like when I was a civilian.”