8
Shit hit the fan the moment Kevin stepped into the main hallway of the building. Almost everyone in visual proximity turned their heads toward him. Before he had time to prepare himself mentally, he saw all kinds of alien life forms reach for some type of weapon and aim it at him.
“Uh-oh!”
“Kevin, I suggest you don’t just stand there,” proposed Mira.
“Right,” said Kevin as blaster fire screamed past his face.
Kevin thought shield and a large blue translucent shield materialized in front of him as he ran toward the elevator, a good hundred meters ahead. But then a burning sensation made him trip forward and crash on the cold marble floor.
The amount of pain he felt simulated what he would have felt in real life.
“Holy shit! Zee didn’t joke about the pain part.”
“You are correct, but get up right now, or that large dude will cut your head clean off in less than a second,” warned Mira.
That sent a jolt of adrenaline coursing through Kevin’s system, and he could see the energy ax coming toward his head. Instinctively, Kevin backflipped onto his feet, sacrificing a handful of hair to the swinging ax. Upon impact with the marble floor, the weapon dug through the stone with ease.
Then he thought, Desert Eagles, and a duo of guns materialized in his hand. He squeezed the triggers and made more holes in his assailant than there are in Swiss cheese.
The grey-skinned alien, more akin to a rhino than a human, but still a cross between the two, fell on his back with a satisfying thud.
What a rush! Forget Doom, this is the real thing.
What kind of antiquated weapons did you just invoke? asked Mira directly in his mind. Was that a projectile-based gun?
“Yes, but they’re Desert Eagles, they pack a punch, and well, they look cool.”
“Agree to disagree there, but we don’t have time to argue the subject, as a matter of fact, I had to slow down your perception of time, so I can communicate with you without putting your virtual life in jeopardy.”
“Oh, that’s why those guys,” said Kevin pointing forward, “are all running toward me in slow motion?”
“That’s correct. Time will resume to its normal pace shortly. But I wanted to let you know some of your options since you’ve elected me as your personal trainer over Ziron.”
“I heard that,” said Ziron, his echoing, omniscient voice resonating over Kevin.
“We weren’t exactly trying to hide it,” cooed Mira.
“Yeah,” added Kevin, “even when I do try and have a personal thought, he’s still listening!”
“I’m sorry, this is just all so exciting,” answered the Sphynx.
“Well, giving me a little privacy from time to time wouldn’t hurt. Just saying, Zee”
When Ziron didn’t answer, Mira continued.
“So here’s the deal, if you die in the simulation, you’ll respawn at the beginning. But since you’ve elected to feel the pain, rather ballsy there if I may say so myself, it might be quite unpleasant, and you may be disoriented after your virtual resurrection.”
“I don’t intend to die,” Kevin smirked.
“Yeah, well at this level, you will, more than once.”
“We’ll see about that. What else can you tell me? It looks like these guys have advanced a couple of meters already, and if I don’t get back in the fight very soon, they’ll get a healthy head start on trying to kill me.”
“Ok, so you can create anything you can imagine, and the suit will make it so. Here in the virtual world, you pretty much don’t have an energy level to worry about, but in real life, even though the armor will work just as it does in the simulation, you will need to worry about power consumption. I’ll overlay this information on your neural HUD so you can see how much energy each of your weapons or defensive creations actually drain. Not wasting energy on Omicronia will be a matter of life or death.”
“Can’t you just equip me with a bigger battery?”
“The nano-tech of the suit is complex, and there is an exchange of energies between your body and the nanites, and they are in perpetual motion, recharging themselves, but it’s not infinite and takes time. You’ll be able to pack extra power as you would grenades, but not too much or they will slow you down, and that too could be fatal.”
“Ok, let me have a run at it, if I get killed, we’ll talk more.”
“Very well, Kevin, you’re the boss.”
That was something Kevin wasn’t accustomed to hearing, but he enjoyed it very much.
Time resumed to its normal pace, and Kevin emptied the clips of his guns at two of the nearest targets, one coming at him with a lightsaber and one with some sort of pulse cannon, which Kevin didn’t intend to become the recipient of.
His years of practice playing first-person shooters really paid off, and he managed the headshots with ease, barely registering how fast his heart was beating, and thoroughly enjoying the simulation.
But when he tried shooting at a mechanical humanoid, his gun refused to fire.
Oh crap, here comes the Terminator.
Thinking reload, he recharged both his clips, but the bullets bounced off the hard metal shell of the robot hurtling toward him.
Time for a change in strategy. By thinking he could fly, a jetpack formed on his back and he shot upward just in time to avoid a deadly punch from the cybernetic enemy. Then he remembered what Mira had said, and it gave him an idea.
Grenades.
Five concussion grenades flew off of him in a star pattern and exploded shortly after hitting the marble floor, sending three-dozen attackers to their deaths. The amount of blood, of all colors and viscosity levels, was so realistic, that Kevin almost puked.
It was one thing seeing blood in video games with his butt uncomfortably parked in his crappy bedroom chair, but it was another hearing the drips and drops and his mind making it seem downright real.
Kevin stabilized in midair for a moment, trying to get some sort of situational awareness of the mess below. Because the atrium was massive, he was hovering a good twenty meters over his enemies. Or so he thought. Another two metallic foes jumped and rocket flames ignited under their feet to propel them in his direction.
Localized EMP pulse gun was what his mind came up with. He fired the first shot toward the nearest tango and was overjoyed with the result. The EMP pulse disabled the cybernetic enemy, cut its thrust instantly, and then gravity did the rest.
By the time Kevin turned around, the red glow of a laser pointer filled his eyes, and he felt his mind melt as everything went black for a few seconds. It felt as if Kevin was losing parts of his mind, his memories, and an uncomfortable burning sensation was present for most of it. Then everything around him changed, and he stood in the middle of the street back on Omicronia, where he first arrived in the VR world.
“Crap!”
* * *
“So, basically,” said Kalliopy after taking a sip of the exquisite white-bean coffee, “you don’t like your father, and you’d like to take his place.”
Sitting back in her chair, she had to admit that everything she had eaten had been made to perfection, some of it even better than her royal cooks had ever created.
“I just despise the man and his methods. I mean, I wouldn’t go as far as having him killed, he’s still my father but. . .”
“And the reason why you’re telling me all of this?”
“I wanted to reassure you that I don’t mean you any harm. We do need to know how to get past your defenses, that’s true, but it’s not to give my father an advantage over you.”
“Then what is it for?”
“I think you know.”
Kalliopy took the last sip of the coffee.
“I really don’t, Xonax, please, enlighten me.”
The Kregan prince rose from his chair and slowly walked toward Kalliopy. This man’s demeanor, grace, and posture was equal to what she had seen in the Arcadian royal court. But he could have set al
l this up in order to gain her trust.
And the day Kalliopy of Arcadia trusted a Kregan would never come. No matter how charming he appeared on the outside, she knew all-too-well how cruel, brutal, and deviant his race was.
“It’s all about the human, you see.”
“What human? I don’t follow.”
“Don’t play dumb with me, if anything, I was hoping this meal would deserve some honesty in return.”
“There, you see, if you expected something in return for what you perceive a good deed, that’s not a good action, that’s a ploy. I’m not very receptive to those. But for what it’s worth, thank you for the meal,” she said as she rubbed her belly. “It certainly was delicious.”
Xonax chuckled. “I only expected to have a conversation. You want to keep your secrets, that’s your prerogative.”
“Then I guess I should return to my cell now?”
“It’s up to you really.”
“Let me guess, if I please you in other ways, you’ll arrange for a comfortable bed with Arcadian satin sheets next? Do I strike you as an easy girl, Prince?”
“Don’t call me that, please. The chasm that separates my father and me is mutual. I am no prince, nor is he my emperor.”
“You’re an interesting Kregan, I’ll grant you that. But I’m not going to tell you anything about how to take advantage of my people, no matter how nice your pretend gifts are.”
Xonax placed a palm on his chest and bowed playfully. “I’m hurt that you would see this as only a ploy. But if the situation were reversed, I think I would be just as suspicious as you are. Though, you know what? Since I can tell you’re no longer enjoying yourself in my company, I’ll leave you with what I know so far, and why I was hoping for your cooperation.”
“Let me stop you right there, there will be no cooperation.”
“Very well, but let me tell you anyway. You see, we managed to dig into your ship’s computer and find enough information to access logs of distant probes around your world. Some of which recorded a very interesting battle, the one we’ve both technically lost. It took some doing, but we detected a neuronal sub-space link with your prototype warship that took out an impossible number of Kregan ships before it exploded.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Kalliopy, smiling.
“Be that as it may, but let me tell you, you are as bad a liar as you are beautiful, your highness. Nevertheless, it seems an external force helped you defeat my father’s army, which peaked my interest. As a matter of fact, I’ve sent my own spy to this distant world hoping to locate the human that helped you take full advantage of your new ship.”
Kalliopy visibly swallowed. That was not the kind of news she wanted to hear.
“And?” she said before biting her lip.
“I see I finally got your attention. Good. Well, he was no longer there. In his wake, however, my spy found a dead Kregan assassin.”
Good, Ziron got to Kevin first.
“I’m not sure what you’re expecting me to say on the matter.”
“Well, I would imagine you’d want to know why I’d like to get my hands on Kevin.”
He knows his name. I should have known. He’s trying to play me.
“Who’s Kevin?”
Xonax smiled. “I see. I guess we shall continue this conversation the next time you’re hungry.”
“Oh, I’ve stuffed myself so much, that might take days.”
“I’m a patient man. As you’ll no doubt learn.”
Xonax pressed a holo-control on a small bracelet he wore on his left hand. Shortly after, the dining room doors split open, and the same officer that had brought her here stepped in.
“Want me to throw her back into her hole?” said the Kregan officer.
The semi-permanent smile on Xonax’s face vanished; in its place was a cold hard frown and a gaze that left nothing to the imagination about what would happen to anyone who crossed this man’s limits.
Xonax pressed another control on his bracelet and then something unexpected happened.
The Kregan guard fell to his knees, grabbed his head, and began screaming in agony.
“That’s no way of treating someone of royal blood.”
While Kalliopy had not enjoyed the way the rude guard had talked with her, he hadn’t been violent or so insulting as to deserve the level of pain she was witnessing.
“Please, stop,” she implored.
Another flick of Xonax’s finger and the screaming stopped. The Kregan guard panted heavily, both his palms gripping the floor.
“That seemed a little extreme,” complained Kalliopy.
“I don’t like disrespect. I’ve observed such behavior in this one for a while now.”
“Nevertheless, the use of extreme force is something you seem to share with your father. For all your talk about his methods, you don’t seem to be using better ones. Thank you for the lovely meal, but if you’ll allow me, I’d like to return to my hole now.”
“About that, the cell you were kept in isn’t worthy of a guest of your importance, so I took the liberty of having a proper room prepared for you.”
Kalliopy sighed heavily. “Don’t think because you’re treating me better than your father would have that I will forget your heritage. I thank you for the meal and the better accommodations, but it won’t win you any favors regarding my cooperation.”
“Who said it had to? It’s been a pleasure, Princess.”
The Kregan guard took a minute to regain his senses and slowly guided the princess outside, in a much more dignified manner.
9
“I told you, didn’t I?” asked Mira.
“What?” said Kevin.
“That you’d get killed at this level of difficulty. You should have started at a lower setting.”
“Ziron thought I could handle it, and truth be told, I enjoy a challenge.”
“Nevertheless, we may not have time for this. At the very least, now that you’re back to the beginning of the simulation, let me explain what else you can do and use.”
“I got it, I think of something, it gets done, and I kick ass. I’ll see you in ten minutes, with my mission objective accomplished.”
“Kevin, may I?”
“No, Mira, let me do this.”
There was a slight pause. “Very well.”
Kevin re-entered the building and changed strategies involving swords and shurikens, but he only lasted an additional sixty-five seconds before being fragged once more, this time he was cut in half. While the pain setting was only active for a split second after VR death, that one had not been a pleasant experience. Not that having his brain melted by a blaster had been a picnic either.
Kevin’s face pinched into a tension-filled expression.
“Can we talk now?”
“No!”
“See you soon, then, Kevin. I would say good luck, but, well—”
Kevin raised a finger. “Not another word.”
When it became clear that Mira would keep silent, Kevin walked back into the line of fire. And again and again for the better part of two hours. Mira had long since stopped trying to offer advice.
Eventually, Kevin got lonely, and his repeated failures started to affect his spirit.
I’m never gonna save Kalliopy. What was I thinking?
On his umpteenth respawn, Kevin decided to take a break and visit more of the town before heading into more butchery. In the last hour, he’d been sliced, diced, cooked extra crispy, imploded from the inside out, decapitated, flattened into a pancake, and way more gruesome ends he preferred not to remember. And each time he felt the pain, even though it lasted for a brief moment.
The worst of it was in the attempts where he was badly wounded but not dead. Suffering through the real pain of these situations had almost overloaded his mind and made him lose his marbles. But part of him knew that this was just a simulation, and that’s how he endured it all in the hope it would make him stronger and better at the gam
e, and by association, have him battle ready for the real thing.
Except it wasn’t a game. The life of Kalliopy depended on his ability to do this, and just like any other time in his life, he could almost hear his father telling him how much of a loser he was. Kevin definitely had a strong case of the blues. And that’s why he decided to take a breather.
This town ain’t that bad; that is, when people aren’t trying to kill you at every turn.
He was half expecting someone from the crowd to jump him out of the blue, that maybe the entire city was part of the training, but the more he walked away from the never-ending building, the more he felt safer and relaxed.
Sure he got some dirty looks and quite a few insults that his suit happily translated for him. After all, he looked like himself in this world, and he was sticking out like a sore thumb. The number of glowing lights, billboards, and holographic commercials were mind-numbing. But since he had never seen or experienced anything like it, he found it almost calming.
He could spend years in here and not see everything. As far as the eyes could see there was life, light, and perpetual movement. It felt both crazy and magical, in a civilization-gone-mad kind of way that was.
He probably walked for ten minutes when he decided to look back. The building didn’t look any less impressive from a distance. But looking at it filled his heart with dread.
I’m never gonna be ready in time.
“Sure you will,” said Ziron, then immediately added. “Oopsie.”
Kevin chuckled. “Have you been monitoring my thoughts all this time?”
“Only since you decided to go on your walkabout.”
“What’s a walkabout?”
“That’s just a theory from someone I met a long time ago.”
“Tell me more.”
“I don’t really remember much besides the name, something about finding yourself when you feel lost or something along those lines.”
“Well, sounds appropriate. And it’s not someone you once met, do you take me for a fool?”
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
Across the Galactic Pond - Box Set: The Complete FAR BEYOND Space Opera Series Page 10