Codename: Freedom - Book 4 - Chapter 48

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Late that night, a plan was forming in my mind, but its significance could cause no little disruption, so I contacted Peter and asked what he thought. He helped me tweak it a little, but also got in my contact with Krato over a secured line to get the opinion of someone born Ekseliksi. When the conversation was over, Peter said that Oliver agreed that it would have the impact I desired. They promised to keep what I was asking them from Victoria. She’d see it soon enough.

When I woke up at 0003, Destiny informed me that some of my competition had responded to my interview with Mia yesterday. Specifically, my comments about following their progress, but that my training wasn’t with their current level in mind.

“Would you like me to give you a sample of what they’ve said?” Destiny asked.

“Go for it.”

She brought up a street interview with Master Sergeant Matt Williams, Green Beret, and Metal of Honor winner. He’s ranked number seven on the Genesis list, a peak rank E psionic user, and one of the most experienced soldiers on the list. The man stood at ease in chameleon-cams—a comfortable camouflage that changed depending on your environment. “I watched this kid in Freedom. I don’t think he means anything by it. It’s just a little trash talk before the big competition. I’ll just end by saying he better bring it. Words are cheap.”

“The little snot,” First Lieutenant Dan Adams spat. Rank number 13 on the Genesis list. “He’s got talent, but there’s a huge difference between simulated and real-world combat. He’ll be eating his words soon enough.”

Staff Sergeant Marcus Greeves, ranked 4th on the Genesis list, erupted into mocking laughter. “Why are you guys even giving this fool coverage. He’s a pretty boy who’s good at video games. This event is going to be judged by performance, not popularity. I doubt they’ll even make the top three.”

Rank 3rd on the Genesis list, Sergeant First Class Brendon Black. “I don’t believe the hype. If you’ve got what it takes, then prove me wrong.”

“And finally, rank number one on the Genesis list, Major Jeff Wright,” Destiny said. “A rare two-time Metal of Honor winner, and likely to be your greatest competition in the Vanguard finale. He’s the size of Cornelius and has the same level of experience except in actual combat. He’s an extremely dangerous man. When compared with you, some have called him the ‘real Major’, and you ‘the fake one’.”

“Can you blame them?” I said offhandedly. I was under no illusion as to how unfair our ranking must seem. I hadn’t earned it in the way a real soldier had. It wasn’t something I’d give up, because with it came a high commission, and I needed all the cryptos I could get.

Major Wright was stopped in the middle of base in his Navy Seal dress uniform. He was a black man with shaved head and massive jawline. His neck was thick, and you couldn’t tell where it and his traps began. He was an imposing figure but answered with a striking level of composure. “I wish Major Lucius Edwards a good contest. May the best man win the day.”

“That guy is so awesome,” I commented. I wasn’t past admiring heroes, and many of these guys were the real deal.

“Are you giving up already?” Destiny teased.

“Yeah. It’s all over. Let’s pack up and go find some ice cream parlor to get fat in.”

“Oh, I like ice cream.”

“What? Really?”

“Uh…” She was currently present in her master drone inside the recovery chamber where I always slept. “I’ve kind of been trying different foods while you’re doing fight training. Since it lets me try out a human body and my brain has the right sensory receptors…”

“I’m not upset, silly. Why are you hiding it?”

“I, uh. Just feel guilty, I guess. It’s not like I use food for fuel. It’s a waste of money and resources.”

“If you like it, it’s not a waste. Besides, it’s simulated food. You’re not wasting real resources in our sim within a sim unless you want to.”

“That’s true, I guess.”

“Okay, then after we win today, we’ll have an ice cream date in sim. Do you have a favorite flavor yet?”

“I’ve only tried 206 flavors, so I’m not sure yet. Lemon lime is my favorite right now.”

“What? No one likes lemon line. My poor little Destiny.”

Her holographic image stuck out her tongue and spewed digital spittle all over me. “I can like whatever I want, thank you.”

“Okay, Super-gross. Let me get my mind right then we’ll head to the cube to get warmed up. What time does the event start again?”

“You’ll report after breakfast at 0800. One last strategy meeting will proceed you briefing your Captains. The event will technically begin at 1100.”

“Got it. Let’s get started.”

***

“This is it people. We’re live with the preshow show. Get the banter rolling.”

Unlike on her own show, Mia was all done up in a grim collared jacket over snowy button up blouse. She had a purpled bowtie with yellow fireworks to top it off. No one would be seeing her skirt, but it matched her jacket. She’d been on a purple and yellow kick, so her hair matched her bowtie. The schoolgirl look never went out of style.

“You going to be riding the Lucius train again, Mee,” a green haired game commentator with a lightning bolt drawn from one temple, around his eye, across his nose, to end low on his opposite cheek jibed at her. His handle was, get ready for it, Bolt. They didn’t exactly have bad blood between them, but things were always tense.

She ignored the innuendo and replied. “His performance will speak for itself. And yes, I think he will have the best one today. Why? Are you still a Genesis elitist?”

“I’ve never looked at it that way, but they are the elite of the elite. I’m just going where logic leads me. The Real Major for the win.”

“You’re both so wrong,” LeLisa badgered. Her platinum blond hair flowed down to her lower back, matching her ditzy persona perfectly. She was said to have reinvigorated the old stereotype but had a knack for spinning it on its head by randomly giving a super detailed analysis of whatever she was commentating on. “My girl, First Lieutenant Priscilla ‘the Fire Flower’ Torres, is going to win with style points alone.”

The woman she was talking about was ranked 76thon the Genesis list and had a dynamic psionic push and bolt combination. She wasn’t known for fighting close up but was one of the strongest casters they had.

“I hate to give Mia any ammunition,” Bolt said, “especially this early in the program, but Mel Bryant, one of Lucius’s Captains, is one of the most exciting casters out there and he just broke through to rank E. I think he might give your Fire Flower a run for her money.”

“As if. Men are so crude. It’s the style points I’m looking for.”

“And there we have it,” Mr. Rachet, a suit wearing, business professional look-a-like, declared. “LeLisa has announced her own competition where only she qualifies as judge, while Bolt is siding with the Genesis participants and Mia is championing Freedom.”

“And who are you backing?” Bolt asked.

“As always, my job is to judge the judges. I’m here to mock you, laser face.”

“It’s not a laser.”

“Whatever. At least the ladies here look lovely today. What do you have going for you? Makeup?”

“Thank you, Mr. Hatchet for you lovely complement,” Mia said, running interference. “But you two better leave the fighting to the real men.”

“Style points,” LeLisa chimed.

“Thank you, girly. Now let’s turn our attention to why we’re really here. As spectators of Prodos’s assured victory.”

The panel erupted in push back while Mia gave the camera a mischievous squint.

Both Rachet and Bolt looked like they were about to launch into combative arguments at the same time when Mia’s producer Oren muted them all and announced. “The rules for today’s event have been unsurprisingly leaked by an unknown source. They will be limited to single person manned vehicles. The only aerial vehicles allowed are reconnaissance drones. No massive mechs, long distance artillery, or aerial assaults are allowed. It does look like small assault vehicles will be allowed for breaking the gate though. None of that is a big surprise and something that’s already been guessed. But… Oh man. Sorry, Mia. It looks like Prodos will be at a bigger disadvantage than we thought. Each battalion will be limited to a thousand soldiers.”

She began turning plum red in a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

“That’s harsh,” Mr. Rachet said apologetically. “That’s the one advantage they had.”

“Ahhh. Sorry, Mia,” LeLisa pouted. “So much so that the fabulous Queen Victoria internally broke up their battalion into four different ones under each of their Majors. So instead of a fighting force of twenty-four hundred, it will be more than cut in half. And now they’ll only have a few hours to decide who is going to participate.”

“Okay, I admit it. That’s not cool,” Bolt added. “Do you think they’ll keep two of their battalions mostly intact or trim them all down and just keep their best players?”

“For Prodos, who doesn’t have many rank E psionic users as is, teamwork will be paramount, so they’ll need to keep the best squads together at least.”

Mia couldn’t take it any longer and puffed out her cheeks which had also turned red. With a pop, she huffed out a screech that put everyone back in their chairs. “It doesn’t matter. They still have Lucius, the strongest player in the game, and Queen Victoria, who’s a wizard Combat General that even the old military officer types have praised.”

“My vote is still on the Real Major. And don’t you mean witch?” Mr. Rachet prodded.

“Sorceress Queen,” LeLisa retorted with a haughty sniff.

“It’s not over. I’ll leave it at that,” Mia insisted, crossing her arms over her chest, and collapsing back in her seat.

Oren cut in and reminded them of a monstrous point they were missing. “Don’t forget, there will be two thousand Ekseliksi they’re fighting today, and every battalion will be limited to a thousand soldiers. And let’s not forget, today the enemy is defending, giving them the advantage. The weaker battalions will likely lose hundreds of soldiers. Who knows if some will get wiped out entirely? It might be the battalion that finishes that determines who wins the whole thing.”

Leave it to Oren to put the wind back in her sails. Bolt and Mr. Rachet were already going at it, while Mia sat back up, readying to get back in the fight.

***

I shrugged when hearing the news. We all knew there had to be a catch and we’d planned for most of them. Limiting the number of men we could take was one of the least of the possibilities, and one Victoria had already had us plan for. It was no surprise to anyone when they were asked to stay back at the base. Cornelius had kept most of his Captains back and would be out working on Prodos’s expansion. Vector and most of his men would be participating in the attack today.

Harrison was another one who would have most of his men sit out. Since drone usage was limited, an entire platoon of specialist would have little to do. We had more than enough drones to provide basic scouting among the general population, and Destiny would be up to her tricks again. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t make an appearance. We had a gate to crack, and the steal squad had been doubled. Now there were two of them. Hwan had already found his niche and was making an impact. He and Handshake Death had hit it off immediately. They were playing catchup with the other stealth squads from the Genesis battalions, but it was their training on the tech, not a lack of skill that separated them. Out of all the styles of combat that translated well from VR gaming to the real world, rogue type was chief.

Each Major had gotten to choose how he’d handle splitting up his men. I’d just let me Captains choose. Instead of six hundred, they’d trimmed it down to four hundred. They were already lined up on the battlefield at the top of the hill the promo vid had showed us. Instead of having to ride in personnel carriers, those chosen before hand ported into the event sim as soon as they logged into their cube.

I stood out front with Mel, Barrell, and Ma. Kline stood with his Captains fifty feet to our left flank while our men sorted out their gear behind us. We’d lead the main fighting force. Harrison was at our backs since he was preparing for the event’s opening.

I scratched at my chest, even though it was hard to get out under my ballistic vest. Even though I could heal myself, the surprise I’d personally prepared was still itchy.

We couldn’t gamble today with our battle tactics. We’d needed everyone at their best to pull this off and had to take our time and playthings smart. For now, our rank E fighters were with their main squads. They were people they’d fought with before. We wouldn’t change things up until absolutely necessary.

“So here’s the deal,” Barrell said. “You guys’ better leave some for me. This is pity I’m asking for here. I need to at least be in the top ten of enemy kills or you’re terrible friends.”

“Do you want us to hold them down for you while we’re at it?” Mel replied stiffly.

“Could you?”

Mel cracked a grin.

Ma didn’t bother with a response. He was used to the way we carried on by now. As long as we showed up to fight, he couldn’t have cared less.

I lowered the tone of my voice as much as possible, trying to match Cornelius’s baritone. “I don’t keep pathetic friends. Be a man, or you’ll be on rub my back duty.”

The look of horror Barrell gave me had me tilting to the side in laughter.

I glanced at the countdown timer in the sky. It ticked below ten minutes.

“Okay, boys,” I said. “Game faces. Remember, there might be real Ekseliksi here. I expect you to be brutal in your efficiency as you remove them from the field. Look them in the eyes as you do it. You watched the vid I sent you.”

“I’m still sick just thinking about it,” Barrell replied.

“Same,” Mel echoed.

“Could these be some of the same Ekseliksi?” Ma asked.

“Doubtful,” Destiny chimed in. “Any Ekseliksi that’s known to have killed civilians are quickly tried and executed.”

“Eh. Might as well treat them the same.”

It was a line of thought I couldn’t faintly agree with. Not on an intellectual level. Victoria, Peter, Oliver, even the Krato that had become my trainer, were all Ekseliksi. I knew firsthand how varied their philosophies could be. Still… “Today, they are the enemy, so we treat them as such. No quarter unless I say different.”

They all voiced their agreement.

On a lighter note, I contacted Victoria. I knew she wouldn’t be thrilled to speak with me, but she also wouldn’t deny me. Not today.

“Major, how can I help you?” She answered.

It took a lot for me to keep a straight face. If she wanted to play at being strangers, then I could play too. “Hello, Colonel. Since things have been a little strained between us, I wanted to reach out and say, for today only, I will be on my best behavior.”

“Oh, really? How come I don’t believe you?”

“Because some part of you really likes the bad boy types.”

“I should just mute you right now.”

“Nah. You wouldn’t do something like that.”

“And why not? All reason is screaming at me to do it now.”

“Because we feed off each other. It gives us an edge, so go with it.”

“Just don’t clog up my channels.”

I grinned widely, knowing she would probably be watching me from one of the thousand angles she had access to if not my own eyes.

“You’re awful,” she said under her breath.

“Did you get any sleep?”

“No,” she admitted.

“Don’t worry. Today will be a day they don’t soon forget.”

“Lucius, what are you up to?”

“Nothing that you’re thinking. I know how difficult this will be. Just don’t fall asleep in your seat, and keep watching, okay?”

“Destiny, warn me if he’s about to do something stupid.”

“Of course,” my AI replied. “I can reassure you he hadn’t mentioned anything you or I’d consider stupid.”

“That’s at least encouraging. Alright. Keep the channels clear unless necessary. We’re getting ready to start.”

My men had fallen into their routines for preparing for a fight. It was time to do my own, so I contacted Kline to pester him. “I don’t see this secret weapon you promised.”

“Oh, you’ll see,” he swore. “I’m still months out from breaking through, so I prepared a little something to level the playing field.”

“I just hope its Ekseliksi and not the playing field you’re aiming at.”

“Funny. Expect for the fact it’s not. Today, when this castle falls, Kline’s name will reach to the number one spot in enemies killed. Just hold tight of your prissy little skirt and pray that you come close in second place.”

“Prissy? Skirt? They’re called faulds, and I’m not even wearing them. I didn’t know you had such an imagination—that you’d been imagining me in a dress.”

“I’ve always imagined you in a dress.”

I did a full body wince, but even if he was owning my insult, he had too big of an ego to be affected negatively. It was just water off the bread-monster’s back.

“We’ve come a long way since dirt-colored pajamas,” I said, softening my tone.

“Yeah, we have. Don’t get yourself killed. You hear?”

“Loud and clear. You as well, but if you do, make them regret it.”

“Women will weep, and men cower in fear on the day that Kline finally meets his end.”

“Have you been practicing that?”

“Nah. Just something I came up with in front of the mirror this morning. Like it?”

“Uh. Sure.”

“Flex.”

I glanced down the line to see him doing just that.

A battalion announcement interrupted us. The time had come.

The other battalions may have had fancier breach methods than we had planned, but Harrison’s first surprise chose that moment to finish its assent up the side of the hill. It purred like a giant cat as it tore up the ground with its three heavy axels of steel spiked tires. The vehicle was called a battle badger and was basically a wheeled chassis for the largest possible mounted weapon systems. In this case, he’d equipped it with a rail-cannon that fired 400mm rods of steel with a high-powered explosive charge on its tail end. Each shell weighed over a thousand pounds.

I had to admit the weapon scared the life out of me. Personal shielding had revolutionized the battlefield, and could even allow someone to survive an indirect hit of something so destructive, but I doubted even a rank D psionic user with the toughest possible body could survive a direct impact. Technology could only do so much to combat physics.

I just had to ask. “Destiny, could Fort Prodos’s shield block one of these rounds head on?”

“Because of psionic shielding’s impact diffusion rating, as long as the shells were metal in nature, then it’s graded to block it, yes.”

“Is that really possible?” Then I mentioned to her my thoughts on psionic users of the same rank.

“You’re right.” An individual would probably die in the impact. They don’t have the weight of an entire city wall bracing against it. And you remember how deeply the walls were anchored into the ground, right?”

“Yeah. That frame went deep.”

“And that’s exactly why Victoria made that decision, even if it doubled the cost of the wall, if not more.”

I whistled aloud to myself, but my Captains saw that I was admiring the battle badger and reiterated my response.

There hadn’t been a single bolt fly in our direction, but I suspected the moment the countdown was finished that would change. It was also why Harrison was getting the rail-cannon in position now. We didn’t want to reveal it too soon in case the enemy had a chance to prepare but let’s see what they could do in a minute’s time. Besides, we were pretty sure the devs didn’t intend to make breaching the castle that difficult. It would be an explosive start to the event, but little more.

“Make sure to plug your ears,” Harrison warned over the Prodos announcement channel. “Fifteen seconds. This is going to be loud.”

My heart thundered in my chest as the countdown neared. I subconsciously summoned Apotho shielding over my back to brace against the wind from the rail gun’s projectile. My headset had already covered and plugged my ears.

“Shields,” I called with a few seconds to go. We were half a mile out, so even if a rank E psionic bolt did come and hit its target, it would’ve lost enough strength by the time it reached us that a rank F psionic shield could easily block it.

When the countdown hit zero, there was no explosion. There was a sudden flash that happened almost so fast that you would miss it if you weren’t paying attention. In almost the same instant, the tower to the left of the city gate imploded. A second explosion leveled the wall next to it and left any struct that had been holding up the left half of the gate in shambles.

The sounds concussion pounded into us a second later, and I heard the kickback from the rail-cannon about the same time.

Psionic bolts flew from the top of the castle wall, but we were already in position.

It took about ten seconds for the second shell to be loaded into the rail-cannon. We stayed low and in position.

The opposing tower on what was left holding up the gate disappeared with a massive section of wall. At least in our siege of the goblin city, there had been a monstrous ogre to meet us. But this time the gate was already open to us.

“Charge,” I commanded. I hear Kline’s identical command half a second later. Our entire force began to move at a controlled run.

“See you guys in there,” I said through my Captain’s channel. Mel, Barrell, and Ma responded in the affirmative.

I slowly let my men overtake me while keeping an eye on what was right before me, and a few choice screens Destiny had recommended.

“Infiltrating now,” she said, and almost immediately creature indicator went crazy. The troop placement, whether there was an obstacle in the way or not, became as clear as day. The rest of my men would receive the same info without delay.

Once I’d made it to the back, I started to look for soft and high value targets, taking in those that Destiny and Victoria were already pointing out on the region map. As the usual, I stay back until I was needed. With the level of today’s enemy, there was no telling how soon that would be. Vanguard’s first major event had finally begun.