Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 12

It was announced the morning before the Gathering of the Guilds that no charges would be pressed against me. Certain videos were leaked on the meta like my reaction the moment I found out, my trip through the city to reach my mom, then me leaping from one building to another before crashing through to the room my mom was being held in. At least the carnage that followed was mostly kept under wraps.

The one exception was the video of me bursting through the wall instead of using the door and slashing out with my psword. The man had been broadcasting was live when I split his head in two horizontally. Thankfully, he fell in such a way that it didn’t show the gore. Instead, you could see me pummeling the last guy in the chest. The way his body collapsed in on itself was almost just as bad.

I knew the announcement that I wouldn’t be prosecuted was a ploy to use my popularity. They were just trying to get as many eyes on the Gathering of Guilds as possible. Even after what had happened and a small vocal segment of the population sympathetic to the terrorists, I understood why they did it. After a year and eight months, this had become my life.

I didn’t know how well I had it until Destiny with Victoria’s guidance created several short videos comparing the Ekseliksi philosophy of immortal progress to commonly held philosophies on Earth. Similar philosophies were held in the combat sports and martial arts communities. Many religions held similar principles. Philosophies that had been around for centuries before I ever came along.

That wasn’t all. The wellness community, led by many popular doctors and fitness influencers, took the idea even further than I had. Besides my genetic cleansing, which was the lowest tier change on the transhuman hierarchy of genetic improvement, many of them held only slightly less drastic ideals than the Ekseliksi themselves.

As far as I could tell, the vast majority of public outcry condemned the terrorists. And like most controversy, I was more popular than ever. At least, I was the most searched Vanguard participant for obvious reasons.

The night before the Gathering of the Guilds, Kline invited me out for a dinner with the guys. We were going to the same off-base dinner where Victoria and I had had our last date when she’d tried to break things off between us. I’d more or less told her I respected her opinion but would ignore it anyway.

When I arrived, the place was packed. I was walking in with Mel and Barrell. We wore comfortable athletic gear after a full day in our Cubes. Barrell was talking my ear off about psionic shielding. He’d had access to weapon bolstering from the beginning and had only recently unlocked what might be considered its opposite. It wasn’t uncommon for psionic users that were more specialized to have the offensive and defensive versions of the same skill. In Barrell’s case, he could cover his weapons with the destructive energy, and now he could also cover his shield, or his own body for that matter, with a protective psionic barrier.

Even though he was obsessed, I was just happy to see him excited. He’d been in a bit of a slump with my progress to compare himself to, and Mel outpacing the both of us.

Seeing that we were deep in conversation, Mel opened the door to reveal dozens of familiar faces staring back at us. Barrell, clearly in on it, pushed me from behind and through the entryway.

The crowd cheered.

I suspected we were celebrating me getting off with no charges, but there was an augmented banner above everyone’s heads that read, Happy Steak Day!

I mean, we kind of celebrated every big occasion with steak—and every small one. The blue-haired Vector and Drool were among the first to hug me. Marabella was a little standoffish, but I gave her a side hug. Heather was with her and almost falling out of her dress. The look she gave me. Then she giggled her head off in response to my reaction.

LadyHeadshot was there with HandshakeDeath. They were somehow snuggling and walking at the same time. It was awkward and adorable. Treetop found me next and lifted me into the air in a bearhug as was his custom. The whole gamer crew was with them.

Hwan motioned to me from the back of the room. He was with Cornelius and Harrison. Kline was grasping both of their massive arms just under the shoulder as if he were trying to forcibly hold their attention while he finished his point about whatever they’d been talking about.

Jerrek and Isamu were there with several of the rowdier guys from their crew. Isamu had a girl with him. She was a tall blond that was even taller than he was, but for some reason they worked.

The only people missing were Victoria, Peter, and Oliver.

Kline shouted for everyone to quiet down. “You guys know why we are here!”

As if on cue, half of the guys in the room shouted, “Steak!” as one.

I smiled through my cringe.

Kline was standing near the back of the crowd with his arms crossed over his chest and grinning. It seemed to be effortless for him to raise his voice above the snickers. “We’re also here because our friend Lucius hasn’t been allowed to sleep in his Cube all week and is having withdrawals.”

Placing my hand over my chest, I nodded in agreement with mock-sorrow.

“Sorry, ladies, but the reason he’s not dating is because he married his Cube,” he added.

It was too much. I facepalmed.

I couldn’t escape either. Barrell and Mel had latched on to either arm and were holding me in place.

“Now that we have him where we want him,” Kline cried, “Ladies, do your worst.”

I habitually controlled what I allowed my eyes to rest on. I was even more diligent now that Victoria and I were together. So I didn’t notice when the ladies in the room, more than twenty including many of the girls that were taken including Drool, Olivia, and LadyHeadshot, had lined up.

The music started.

Heather approached me like a runway model while biting the side of her lip.

I turned into a big red popsicle. Kline knew how serious I was about pursuing Victoria even if everyone else did not. That’s probably why he was laughing his head off.

The redheaded former athlete with a long, symmetrical face and bright eyes was the kind of person that drew attention naturally. It was one of the reasons Liam had decided to use her. Her violet dress hung from her shoulders with a V-neck collar that reached almost down to her belly button. It was glaring so I didn’t give her more than a glance to know what I was dealing with.

She didn’t stop until she was within arm’s reach. Turning slightly, she slipped her dress from one shoulder.

I made a point to study the ceiling.

I felt the woman’s nails gentle walk up my chest toward my neck. It was the kind of that I only allowed from one woman, but when I looked down to glare at her, I didn’t see what I expected.

She was giving me a sad smile.

I dared another glance only to see a similar representation of the tattoo I had across my chest. The design was a little different to balance with the length of her collarbone, but the implications sobered me quickly.

Giving her a questioning look, I received a flirty squint in return before she winked and walked away.

Drool, Vector’s wife, was next. I’d never asked her ethnicity, but despite her lighter skin tone she had to be a mix of several Asian ethnicities and white Caucasian. Because she and Vector so often helped in my secret dates with Victoria, I’d seen Drool in an evening gown several times. Hers was also more conservative. Despite that, her approach was the same. Except when she drew near and lowered her dress on one side, the Próodos tattoo was on the back of her shoulder.

She gave me an encouraging grin as she strutted away.

Olivia’s approach left out the teasing. She had on a cute blouse and pants. There was no lowering or raising of clothing. She flipped over her hand so that I could see a smaller version of the tattoo on her wrist.

Many of the girls had smaller ones of varying designs. There were a few in more intimate places, but what had started as an overly sensual joke turned into something far more touching.

The strip tease just wasn’t something Kline would put together, but this? This had him written all over it.

Messing with each other was just what we did. These tattoos meant far more. Because of my stance on the Ekseliksi, my parents had been kidnapped. These weren’t just women who were friends or might be sweet on me. Every one of them had made it through Freedom and on into Vanguard. They knew exactly what they were doing.

After the first couple, I no longer looked away. With my brow creased, I thanked each of them in turn.

Last but not least, LadyHeadshot, or Amelia, danced up to me in a modest dress with a shawl covering her shoulders and back. She had a very in your face, direct personality. We hadn’t interacted a lot, but when we did it was always cordial. So when she stopped a foot from my face, I didn’t think anything of it.

Instead, I said, “It’s really good to see you, Amelia. And congratulations.” I wasn’t going to ask her in front of all these people if she’d decided to stay, but I was hoping she’d at least stay on and help Victoria at the base periodically.

“Thank you,” she mouthed before spinning and dropping her shawl.

My jaw hit the floor. Her entire back was covered in ink. I had no idea she had so many tattoos. I found the Próodos one. It was one of the largest among the girls. Everything looked masterfully done and somehow, the varying tattoes blended perfectly together.

Finding HandshakeDeath in the crowd, I watched as he had a bit of fun at my expense.

She didn’t shy away from the attention. She even turned so that the room could see, but after a few long seconds, she covered herself and announced, “Sorry, but you guys lost your chance to get a better look. I’m already taken.”

With a hop in her step, she hurried over to Handshake and melted into him.

The music cut, and Kline was back. Except, instead of saying something nice, he cried, “Now!”

Grabbing his collar, he ripped his shirt down the middle to reveal an identical tattoo to my own.

There were other guys who removing their shirts like the hairy chested Mel and Barrell, but they just took them off like normal human beings. Cornelius had one on his bicep as did Harrison they revealed as they flexed. Every guy there had them in varying sizes just like the girls.

Kline strolled across the room and heaved me up, over his shoulder, as he walked me toward the table most central to the room. Mel and Barrell were there with me. Everyone else sat at the tables surrounding us. The steak was ready a few minutes later. I didn’t even half to order.

It wasn’t the type of atmosphere for quiet conversation, but after half an hour or so, everyone settled down enough where I could talk to the guys.

I smacked Barrell and Mel on the shoulder. They sat on either side of me. As for Kline, I thanked him. “I can’t believe you guys got tattoos.”

Even after eating more than a pound of steak, he grinned, and his teeth were still pearly white. “You think that’s all. Half the people here got DNA Cleanses. I won’t name names because of privacy and all that.”

My fork stopped halfway to my mouth. “They did what?” There was a large clank as I put my utensil down faster than I intended.

“Yeah, I’ve been holding back since Freedom,” he admitted.

That could only mean… I couldn’t ask him here, but he was the only other person I knew of that knew who Victoria was.

“If it wasn’t for the social stigma, I would’ve gotten one a long time ago,” Barrell butted in. “I didn’t even know there was a way to extend your life by that long without doing something extreme. It’s crazy that everyone doesn’t do it.”

Mel just nodded along.

“You too?” I asked.

He finished chewing before saying, “Yeah, me and Olivia did it on our day off.”

“But it changes your DNA.”

“Were you hoping I wouldn’t be around as long as you?”

Kline and Barrell almost choked on laughter and steak.

“No, it’s just…”

The look Kline gave me promised we had a conversation coming. It wasn’t much later when we took a walk.

As we left the dinner, I shook everyone’s hand, telling them how much I appreciated what they’d done. I’d come hoping for some lighthearted time with the guys and left humbled. Destiny was following behind me on her orb watching me like she was a proud parent.

Meeting up outside with her master drone, we walked around back and off into the field where micro-drones surrounded us. The first thing I did was thank him again.

“Despite what you’ve been through, the time you kill someone is never easy,” he encouraged. “Not when it’s that up close and personal. How you handling it?”

Normally when we got together like this, I really was struggling with something but this time? “I won’t say that it’s been easy, but I’m at peace with it.”

“You’re not just saying that?”

I held his gaze long enough that when I said, “Nope,” he actually believed me. “What about you? Are you becoming Ekseliksi?”

“Not to the extent that you mean to. When I served my country, I gave up a lot of freedom while I did. I was proud to do it. But even though I’m more or less serving now, it’s not the same. I’ll help the people I want to help. That includes you, Victoria, etc., but I’m never giving up that much freedom again. Not unless I’m convinced there’s no other choice.”

The sun was going down. Kline turned at gave it a long look before adding, “Instead, I’ve become a recruiter.”

I walked over and stood next to him too focused on what he said to really look at the view. “Mel and Barrell?”

“Yeah. They don’t know everything yet, but I’m making sure they’re ready. Like asking them if they’d work with rebels and making sure they see the wisdom in it.”

“Not joining them, but supporting an alliance then?”

“I can’t ask more of them in good conscience.”

We shared a look.

I nodded that I understood. They’d never insisted I become Ekseliksi. I’d decided that on my own. It’s not like I’d lose my human status or anything like that. If things got weird, I could alway change my mind. Of course, the problem was that I was Ekseliksi whether I admitted it or not. It was my philosophy before it had even been explained to me. Which begged another question. Why didn’t I take my enhancements further? That was a matter for another time.

He bumped me with his shoulder hard. Despite the jest, he asked with concern, “We haven’t really had a chance to talk since before the siege event. I know the front you put on is mostly for show, but are you and Victoria on good terms behind closed doors?”

Normally, I’d be very careful, but I took an extra moment to strip down my walls a little to give him a genuine smile, “Yeah, it’s not real. We’re fine. Just after the emotional way she healed me…”

“Have you slept with her?”

I became very still. My mannerisms were usually controlled, but I was purposely trying to act open around him. This was Kline after all. The contrast must have been too much.

He sighed. “She’s not stupid. After the nonsense you’ve pulled off, even I want to reward you and there’s not a bone in my body attracted to your skinny butt.”

Craning my neck, I looked down at my bicep and flexed. “Skinny?”

Leaning up against me, he flexed, revealing his own. “Skinny,” he insisted.

His muscle mass wasn’t that much larger than mine. I’d easily reached my genetic limitations and began pushing past it. He’d simply been doing it longer than I had.

He pumped his brow but kept going. “What I’m trying to say is that she undoubtedly cares for you. You know the position she’s in, though. Don’t let her sleeping with you once or twice cause you to forget the position you’re in. If you really can beat this Vasileia fiancé, then maybe, but even then your relationship with her will never be a normal one. There’s too much required of her. I recommend keeping some distance from her so that you both don’t get emotionally tied up in knots.”

This was Kline, which was probably the only reason I didn’t blow up, but he was insinuating that she would sleep with someone just to reward them. “She’s not like that,” I barked.

He snorted. “I’m not making accusations, punk—or questioning her character. Despite her position and super genetics, she’s still as human as the rest of us. She’s allowed to be a young woman and make mistakes.”

  I controlled my tone while still being blunt. “She didn’t make a mistake in a moment of weakness. She made a commitment.”

“What do you mean?” He grabbed my shoulder and shook it. “What do you mean, Lucius?”

“She’s fully committed. So am I. She considers us husband and wife even if no one can know.”

His grip tightened. “And Peter knows?”

I nodded.

“Are you crazy?” He pushed me.

“You said you wouldn’t get in my way,” I scoffed.

“Yeah, but I also didn’t think either one of you would be stupid enough to take it this far. There are Ekseliksi that would kill you for just being too familiar with Victoria in the most innocent way possible. But if they find actual proof that you’ve not just flirted with her, but defiled her, then they will torture and kill you, kill your family, and your family’s family.”

He quickly cleared the distance between us while demanding, “Come here and let me choke you out a few times. Maybe it will reset your brain.”

I gave him a quick psionic push to the face which he just soldiered through.

That monstrous grin appeared as he feinted a lunge. Then he stopped short and ran his hands over his face as if he’d gotten infected in my presence and needed to wipe himself clean. “If she was anyone else… You realize that you chose to be with the only person that is worse for your health than sleeping with countless random strangers.”

I shook my head. “You don’t know what she does for me, Kline.”

“There’s certain things you shouldn’t share.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not just physical intimacy. She’s teaching me psionics. No more hints or just telling me what I need to know. And it might not look like it from the outside, but she builds me up unlike anyone I’ve ever known. Only Destiny even comes close.”

My AI’s master drone was hovering nearby but had stayed out of it. At my mentioning her, her image flickered into life above the drone, she waved, but then she disappeared again as if to give us space.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “You realized that what you’re explaining makes it even worse, right? Years from now, if you really decide to fight a Vasileia and die, her life is going to be far worse than it ever would’ve been without you. Not only will she be forced to marry, but she’ll be marrying the man that killed you.”

I wetted the back of my throat. “Only if I lose.”

“Even after what almost happened to your parents? You’re not second guessing anything?”

“Yes, but now that Victoria is no longer trying to push me away, I’m just convinced it’s worth it. And after tonight? You and everyone else getting those ridiculous tattoos…” I couldn’t help but to grin. “It’s not just about Victoria and me.”

There were people walking out of the dinner, starting to leave. People we knew all too well. I motioned in their direction and said, “They’re worth it. You’re included in that group, you know.”

Kline extended his bottom lip into a mock-frown.

Looking up, I saw it was starting to get dark, but I couldn’t leave until I tried at least one last time. We hadn’t had the same amount of time together as we’d had in Freedom. That didn’t mean things had changed between us.

“It’s a privilege,” I said tactfully. Holding up my hand, I watched it tremble. I rolled it into a fist, bringing it under control. “To be able to exhaust myself—to put everything I have into the work I’m doing—for my friends, for Victoria, and myself. To dare to reach beyond my potential. Do I second guess anything? Every moment of every day.”

With fists outstretched, I flexed every muscle in my body to try and contain the emotion I was feeling. I just held that tension until some of my bottled-up steam cooled.

Taking a deep breath, I continued, “But I also revel in this. It took me a long time to understand that about myself. Training isn’t fun for me like it is for Achilles. But the struggle. The impossible odds. It’s not just fun for me. It’s like I’m doing exactly what I was born to do.

“Victoria and I share the same vision. We aren’t willing to sit back without doing everything in our power to make that vision a reality. We’re simply better together than alone. And brother, we are very good together.”

He chuckled even if it was as much in exasperation as humor. “You would have to make it weird there at the end now, wouldn’t you?”

I gave an unapologetic shrug. “It wouldn’t be if you were still wearing a shirt.”

“It would be better if you were a naïve idiot that was being taken advantage of, or some young guy that couldn’t control himself,” he quipped. “At least then I could feel some sympathy for you.”

“Jealous?”

“Maybe a little,” he said while shaking his head. “I’m scared for you, Lucius. You’re knowingly boxing yourself in so that you’ll have no other way out.”

Taking one large stride, I slammed my hands down on his shoulders and shook him like he so often shook me. I very nearly shouted in his face, “Exactly.” Then with a more even tone, I added, “Whether I can or not doesn’t matter. It’s a question of how.”

“You say that a lot, but you’re just a man, Lucius. You should know as well as anyone after what you just experienced how delicate life is. Everyone has limits.”

Chuckling, I turned away before giving him a sidelong look. “That’s why I’m doing it. When I killed those men to save my mom it took so little effort. A psionic bolt. A swing of my sword. It wasn’t even my intention to kill them all with a single blow. I only realized that’s what I’d done when it was over. How can someone that weak live as long as they did? How are any of us still even alive? We shouldn’t be able to do what we can, Kline. And yet, here we are. As for our true limits, nobody knows. What we consider potential is just what’s typically verifiable through mass observation. It’s flawed at its very foundation. So many variables are missing.”

Kline reached up and gave me a light pat on the cheek. “So what are you going to do when I surpass you with my headbutting technique? I’ll let you keep Victoria after I beat up her fiancé.”

I snickered. “So kind of you. I’ll just have to anticipate it and start practicing my own.”

His teethy grin shined from under his beard as he threw an arm over my shoulder. “Come on. Ready for seconds?”

I pulled back. “For putting this together tonight, I can’t thank you enough. As much as anyone, you set me down the path that I’m on. But there’s someone waiting for me. Did I mention how good we are together?”

He pretended to gag. “Then get going already. And just so there’s no secrets between us, I am going to give Peter a piece of my mind when I get the chance. This never could’ve happened unless he allowed it.”

“That reminds me. I need to thank him too.”

Kline went to push me when I shot in as if going for his legs. He tried to sprawl, but it wasn’t his legs I was going for.

I missed grabbing him around the waist because he was simply too quick. Instead, I embraced him kind of high on the back, which made it awkward, but I didn’t care. With two firm slaps on the back, I asserted, “I love you, brother.”

He retorted, “You really think that’s going to stop me from slamming you?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

He grunted, letting me go. “This is too much for me. I’m going to go eat some ice cream.”

“You get ice cream all the time.”

Spinning, he called out as he walked away, “This time I’ll get two servings and eat one in your honor.”

Destiny’s microdrones dropped their barrier, letting him go.

***

Stepping through the doorway of my private quarters, I felt her presence. As soon as the door was closed, her arms wrapped around me from behind.

Victoria whispered after Destiny did her magic, “Tomorrow is going to be a very long day.”

Lacing my fingers with hers, I asked, “Stressed?”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “My mind doesn’t turn off.”

“I think I can help with that.”

She brushed her nose against my stubbly chin. “If I could sleep tonight, it would be nice.”

“Then its my turn to help you,” I replied, holding her gaze.

Giving me a playful squint, she asked, “And how are you going to do that?”