Codename: Freedom - Book 4 - Chapter 37

My session that day with Krato was a continuation of the day before. I wasn’t sure how much better he was expecting me to be on the second day, but there was no violent chastening, so I guess I passed. As for questions, I stuck to a few follow up ones to just clarify things in my mind. Maybe it was wrong to hold off the type that prove significant, but I’d already offended him on the first day so I’d play things safe for a few days.

“Lucius? Or should I say, Major?”

“Hey, man,” I replied. I’d waited until most of the day’s fighting was done to contact Barrell about the meeting tonight. I proceeded to tell him about the plan.

“I’ll be there. It’s only been a few weeks, but Freedom feels like it happened years ago.”

“Yeah. In some ways it does… I wanted to give you a heads up. I’m thinking of inviting Heather to the group. Her experience in Freedom is unique to ours, and I can’t help but to think she’ll have some useful input.”

“Okay…” Like always, he knew I had more.

“She came to talk to me the other day, as you know. She had a lot of good pragmatic reasons for wanting to join up with Mel, but one was of a personal nature, and I think you need to hear it.”

“She’s not into me. I get it.”

“Yeah. She wanted to limit contact so that she wasn’t leading you around out of respect for you.”

“That’s nice of her,” he said sarcastically.

“I know it sounds like a typical rejection, but I sensed the respect part was genuine. Also, I don’t think she’s emotionally available. This war is very real to her, though I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to say why. I really want you both to be able to work together on this.”

“Don’t worry. I know I’m ridiculously handsome, but believe it or not, I’ve been here before. I won’t make it weird.”

“Thanks, man. See you soon.”

***

We met inside my custom training hall simulation. I stood in the courtyard of the bandit fortress sim that Achilles had gifted me. It had gone through many updates since I’d gotten a hold of it. The ground in the courtyard had been packed dirt, but now it was stone. The blocks in the defensive wall were even and smooth in a way impossible without technology that was not available in the sim’s original medieval setting.

The first person to arrive was the bearded, granite golem, Kline. A shadow and tracking drone appeared with him, flying off to a manageable distance. He wore a full-body ballistic suit of black with blue trim.

We hadn’t had much time to hang out since Vanguard started. I would be lying to myself if I didn’t think I was just as excited about seeing everyone as I was about the unique training we might be doing.

As the usual, he stalked toward me as soon as he saw me to give me a bear hug.

With a flash of my aura, I ducked down and embraced him around the waist then picked him off the ground. I’d been ready.

Once off the ground, I sensed how foolish it was immediately. When had he hooked his arm beneath my armpit?

My grappling game was only so-so. I felt it when he was about to take control, so I let go and pushed myself away with a firm burst of Othisi.

He squawked at my choice to retreat. “Coward.”

“No, it’s all wisdom,” I grinned. “I think we both know psionic grappling has a long way to go before its fully developed. It’s one of the reasons we’re here. You’ll have your way with me soon enough.”

He smiled victoriously.

At that moment, Mel and Barrell ported in together. There was another round of competitive embracing when they noticed us.

“Olivia?” I asked.

“She’s not really interested in theoretical uses of psionics,” Mel admitted. “So, she’s spending the time with the girls. She said she’ll be happy to come if you want her to demonstrate flash-step, but the rest sounds boring to her.”

“Not a problem. We’ll probably take her up on the offer eventually.”

For a few minutes it felt like we were back in Freedom. The conversations quickly degraded. On the surface it must have looked like friendly nonsense, but it allowed me to unwind a bit even if it was soon interrupted by new additions.

Heather and Mara arrived together. They wore their ballistic garb and looked ready for training. I had no idea how they knew each other, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. I was underestimating how socially adept Mara was. Had I mentioned to her that I was thinking of inviting Heather to the group though?

They both stood at awkward attention, unsure what was expected as the training sim appeared around them.

“Welcome, ladies,” I called, setting an informal tone as a commanding officer. “There’s just a few more people we’re waiting for.”

Our conversation quickly took on a calmer vibe as the girl’s presence tamed our tongues. I noticed Heather glanced at Barrell as soon as she arrived, but I suspected he was keeping his attention trained purposely elsewhere.

St3alth arrived next. He wasn’t well known by the others, but he’d never been shy. He was soon chatting with Mel and Barrell about psionic invisibility. As far as we knew, it was an impossibility, but they’d seen St3alth’s work in the battle against the Ekseliksi elite. It was at least something we had to rule out. His personal drones flew off to join the small army of them that was now flying around us.

The giant Cornelius arrived next, followed soon after by Harrison, the only other person I knew in Prodos with a more impressive beard than Kline. I would’ve thought of him as the stereotypical mountain man with his chestnut-colored hair, well-tanned face, and powerfully built dad-bod if he wasn’t such an accomplished engineer.

Hwan, St3alth’s real name and what he was going by now, was quick to go over and greet them both. Harrison had become his direct commanding officer.

The last two people to arrive came only seconds later. Vector and Drool appeared holding hands. There was no way I wasn’t going to include a couple pro gamers in on the conversation. Technically, Hwan, Mara, and I were also gamers, but not at the same level as these two.

“It looks like that’s everyone. Gather around,” I said, while repeating to myself not to say ‘please’. Destiny had been giving me pointers on how to come off more authoritative. These were some of the people I trusted more than anyone else in the world, so I knew they wouldn’t hassle me, but she insisted it was important to practice.

They took no formation as they fell into a rough semicircle around me. I lifted my voice to make sure everyone could hear me clearly. “Before we get started, I’ll quickly introduce everyone. Most of us know each other well, but there are a few new faces.”

I began with my fellow Majors. “Cornelius is a veteran Combat Master and really doesn’t need an introduction. His vast experience will be priceless as we develop new combat strategies.”

I half expected a wisecrack, but he just nodded to the group.

“Harrison is our engineer mastermind from Freedom. He was responsible for any defensive structure and construction. He also was one of the first to bring archery to the battlefield.  Now he’s our master of mechs… among other things.”

Cornelius pounded the shorter man’s shoulder. Harrison chuckled and replied. “If that’s an official title, I’ll wear it proudly.”

“Everyone knows Kline, because once you’ve seen him you can never forget that face.”

As if to prove my point, his teeth shone happily from beneath his beard.

I added. “Also known as the Left Hand of Prodos and a force of poleaxe destruction.”

It probably wasn’t the best approach to begin joviality, but if there was anything I was sure I could do well, that was sober the mood quickly.

I let the laughter settle before continuing. “Barrell led Prodos’s scouts in Freedom and is our hit and run expert. He’s able to extend his psionic weapon enhancement past his spear’s point to create something like an energy blade which we’ll be studying.”

He gave an exaggerated bow. Kline pushed his with his hip in Mel’s direction. Mel nudged him back.

“Mel was Prodos’s main ambassador in Freedom, and led our elite group of psionic casters. He’s also one of the few people to have unlocked every primary psionic ability.”

His reaction was reminiscent of Cornelius’s.

“I think most of us know Heather. She’s our resident supervillain.”

She gave me a death stare but was obviously amused.

“She proved to be a capable enemy and an even more competent ally during the Ekseliksi elite fight.” I paused so that my implication was clear to everyone. There were few people more competent than the ones gathered here, but I knew how hard grudges were to give up. From what I could tell at a glance, no one was holding hard feelings. “I hope to make good use of her different perspective. She also has a unique use of her psionics that can stun other psionic users.”

Stepped forward, she replied. “Thank you for having me.” Her gaze stuck to the ground. “I know this can’t be easy. I—I just want to kill Ekseliksi.”

I was quick to move on. “Mara, er, Marabella is a multi-time rhythm dancing world champion, and one of the gamers that rose to prominence during Freedom. She’s a gymnast and has already been helping me grasp combat-parkour, of which she’s also a veteran.”

“Ex-gymnast,” she corrected. “And I’ve done normal parkour, but I’m still figuring out the combat version myself.”

“She’s also too humble,” I said glaring at her. “Except when she’s not, and will be a big help.”

She leaned her head against hand as if she was bored of the praise and stuck out her tongue.

Turning to the obvious couple, I motioned toward them. “Mara is under Captains Vector and Drool. They took the leadership roll when many of the gamers were forming up early in Freedom and joined Prodos under the mentorship of Cornelius. Both were amongst the best in the world in their respective genres and will give us a unique perspective.”

Seeing him squeeze her hand and her look up to him dotingly reminded me how fundamentally Freedom had shaken our world. Gamers and athletes had once had a serious rivalry, but that had changed at least among Freedom participants in a matter of months.

I’d once thought Drool was a tease that wouldn’t bat an eye at using men to advance her career. When Vector had first hooked up with her, he’d thought the same thing. Whether that had all been a mask she put on, or the threat of the coming war had changed her, I wasn’t entirely sure. I’d seen how well she and her father got along during her wedding. She was basically a daddy’s girl, so her public man-hating persona left me confused more than anything.

Then there was Vector. He’d been more then willing to casually hook up with her in the early days of Freedom, but he didn’t seem to think twice to make things more serious with her. I’d have to ask him about it one day.

“I also want to introduce you to Hwan. Vanguard is his introduction to the VR Cubes and psionics. Even though we have several gamers here already, he and I have known each other for years. He has a knack for being at the right place at the right time on the battlefield as you might recall from our fight against the Ekseliksi. He shot the guy in the face with what was supposed to be a mounted shotgun, snapping his own collarbone.”

Getting a pat on the back by Barrell, Hwan decided to mimic the man’s earlier bow.

“Oh no. There’s two of them,” Mara said in an overly loud whisper.

There was a round of snickers.

Hushing the voices with a raise of my hand, I said, “There’s one last person I need to introduce. Destiny.”

She flew down from above and hovered before us. She appeared in military dress atop her drone in miniature form. In the most robotic voice possible, she said, “Greetings, I have served as Lucius’s personal AI for more than a decade. It is my pleasure to meet you.”

“Destiny,” I chided.

Not only did she pout in response, but her eyes grew to make her look extra adorable.

I was about to insist she get serious when Hwan let out a sharp whistle.

She replied in her normal voice. “And this one has been ogling me since the day he hit puberty.”

“I can’t really deny that.” he admitted.

Clenching my jaw, I internally borated myself. It was my fault things had gotten this carried away. “Enough, you two. Destiny, please.”

“Forgive me, everyone,” she replied. “There are some jokes that only AIs can make, and I couldn’t help myself. To business.” Her size suddenly doubled, and she looked down at us from a few feet overhead.

“I will be keeping detailed records of every idea, experiment, and advancement you make while working on this project. The only thing I’ll miss is what you don’t say aloud. I can’t read your minds, so be vocal. I will also give my own opinion when appropriate.”

Her brief explanation had given me a decent breather to collect my thoughts. “Most of you have already interacted with Destiny even if you didn’t realize it. During our first event in Vanguard, she managed all Prodos communications. She even helped me stop the Ekseliksi from escaping in the final moments before Victoria blasted him to bits. She’s unique, but it’s much deeper than just having a complex artificial personality and high-end processing capabilities. She has a synthetic brain that allows her to process information much like we do, including emotion. I’m not sure her or I really know what that means yet, but if she’s acting abnormal, please be kind and bear with her.”

She glanced to me and mouthed, “Thank you.”

Leaning forward to get a close look at her drone’s hardware, Heather asked, unsure which of us to address her question to. “She’s sentient? Or you are?”

“I’m not sure,” Destiny replied. “The Jinhwa grow human brains and merge them with computers to create a hybrid that is considered sentient, but also unethical by both human and Ekseliksi standards. Their ruling AI is said to be this type of creature. I am not that, though the human brain was certainly used in my base design. I wasn’t grown, but built, and there are several parts to my brain’s design that emulate the brains of other species. I also have a quantum core and more traditional synthetic processors that can be upgraded as technology advances. So, I’d be better understood to be an android than cyborg, but there’s some grey areas.”

“Uh…” Hwan began. “Does that mean?” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Destiny, if I—”

“St3alth, you shouldn’t apologize. This is a new development that only became possible because of Vanguard. I’ve scanned my old memories and found your attention flattering. I know you were just a young man using me to try to build confidence.”

“Wow,” Mara said, jumping into the conversation. “So if we want to know anything about Hwan or Lucius, we just have to ask? Like anything…”

Destiny denied she would do that to me but not without looking roguish.

I’d let us get off topic for long enough. “With introductions out of the way, let’s get started.”

There were a few lingering voices, but I had everyone’s attention.

“In a matter of a few short years, we will be at war. Just recently, we faced of with a single of elite, and he almost wiped out our base singlehandedly.” It was almost like I was watching the levity being siphoned from them as I went on. “You’re amongst the most competent and trustworthy people I know. Even Heather, who I’m taking a chance on inviting here, has proved with her actions, and also through the people who vouch for her, that she has a right to be here. I need all of your help.”

Looking to Destiny, I nodded to her.

Suddenly, her personal hologram disappeared from above her drone and a scene started to play. It was the same one where the Ekseliksi elite with advanced stealth capabilities wiped out a human settlement with ease.

The next scene was like it, but this Ekseliksi had wings like that of a dragon. He flew in from above toward hidden base in a mountain valley. It would’ve been hard to spot even for an aerial drone because it was so well surrounded. The results were the same as the first.

Another tragedy followed. The scenes got shorter and shorter scenes. Each one depicted another attack by a different Ekseliksi with unique physical traits on top of elite level psionics. After more than thirty such instances were shown, the scenes stopped playing and Destiny appeared once again in a downtrodden state.

If I didn’t have their attention before, I did now. “I have had the privilege to privately train with one of the best Combat Masters in history. One of Cornelius’s rivals and friends. A primary of the reasons why Achilles was so dominate was his unbending mental discipline. How do we prepare against such seemingly impossible odds? Every ounce of doubt is a waste of time. We must decide now not to entertain worthless fancies that might distract us. There is no, can we? Only one thing that we can allow ourselves to entertain is how. How do we beat them?”