Codename: Freedom - Book 4 - Chapter 27

Porting into the Vanguard sim, I arrived in a wide open room with a white glowing ring that reached from wall to wall. I wasn’t alone. Even as I finished phasing, others were arriving around me. I already wore my basic psi-wrap body armor and pshield refinement belt. My headset was also present and active. I received a heading from Destiny.

Since I hadn’t had a chance to speak with Victoria, I sent her a message. She didn’t respond right away. That wasn’t a concern. I just wanted her to know I was here and ready to help.

I was soon informed that everyone was heading toward to inner court. The entire battalion would gather below the northern inner gate upon which Victoria would make an announcement.

It would still take time for everyone to arrive, which made it a perfect time to do what I’d been itching to do earlier. I looked for my men to check to see how they were doing.

“You know, there’s a better way to do it,” Destiny said airily. “Shall I spread your command to form up by the gate?”

I was about to agree when I thought better of it. “No. Just paint them with a beacon if you spot them. The crowd gives the sense of anonymity. I don’t want to put anyone on the spot in front of everyone if they’re really struggling.”

“Okay. Then here we go.”

The first people we spotted were Vector and Drool. They were with Treetop and HandshakeDeath. They weren’t under me, but I didn’t have to tell Destiny that I’d want to speak with them. As I approached, I sensed the current vibe of their conversation and slowed. Treetop was supporting Handshake with an arm around his shoulder as Vector was talking to him.

I’d once believed Handshake’s stone cold persona was an act he put on for his fans. He had a narrow face with a sharp nose, so he always looked rather intimidating. But after Treetop’s legs had gotten crushed under a hobgoblin on the second night of Freedom, the first person shooter expert hadn’t hesitated to step up and put a knife in the back of Treetop’s skull so that he wouldn’t have to suffer from the pain. But here he was downcast, and vulnerable.

I almost turned back when Handshake glanced my way. Retreating now would just make things worse.

The others noticed me after he did. Reaching out my hand, Handshake took it.

“You too?” I said.

He gave me a confused look.

“Yesterday hit me hard,” I admitted.

A look of understanding crossed his face and he nodded shamefully.

I didn’t know exactly what to say, so I just went with my gut. I began to laugh.

He didn’t take my reaction poorly. He just slumped his shoulders like he was resigning himself to the reality of the situation.

“I didn’t know you were human,” I said flatly.

It wasn’t the first time he would’ve heard such a thing. His specialty was stealth even in modern shooter VR. Even at the highest levels, it wasn’t unheard of for him to clear an entire map of the enemy by himself during the right conditions. Hearing my comment, he shook his head, but not without revealing the beginnings of a grin.

“It’s not what you think,” he replied. “I’m naturally a quiet guy. It looks good on highlight vids, but just because my nerves don’t show on the outside doesn’t mean they aren’t screaming at me on the inside.”

“Still, you’ve always controlled them even while at the highest levels of competition. Before Freedom, I’d only had hints at that kind of pressure. Seeing you struggling a little makes me feel a bit better. If even HandshakeDeath succumbs to pressure sometimes, then a newb like me has a chance.”

Treetop choked on a laugh.

“He’s right,” Drool said, stepping forward. “There’s nothing wrong with getting discouraged, and letting other people see it. Amelia is just upset. Don’t pay attention to what she said, but how she’s acting. She’s only being this way because she really wants you here.”

I heard Vector’s voice coming in at a whisper as I received his private message. “Thanks for stepping in. Amelia is LadyHeadshot’s real name. So you know what’s going on, Handshake came to us saying he was thinking about quitting Vanguard, and she freaked out.”

“Do you think he’ll actually leave?” I messaged back.

“Nah. He an extreme introvert so he doesn’t come out and say stuff like this often—say anything really—but this isn’t the first time. It is the first time Amelia has overheard, though.”

“So… She likes him?”

“Yeah. Been crushing on him for years, but they are total opposites. She’s the shoot you in your face type, and he’s a stab you in the back kind of guy. They’d probably make the worst couple imaginable, so it will probably happen. How long it will last is anyone’s guess.”

I slunk away a minute later, seeing that Vector and Drool had it well under control. I’d fought and bled with these people while in Freedom, yet it was a good reminder that there was a lot I didn’t know about them. I needed to be better about getting to know them.

It was Kline of all people I ran into next. Giving me his sudden piercing glare told me everything I needed to know. When he wrapped me up in a bear hug and shook me, I just went with it. He admitted he was bumped his flashbang to the face wasn’t more effective, but the whole event seemed to have no effect on his jovial outlook.

I left him to his men who were beginning to gathering around him a minute later and continued stopping to talk with everyone I recognized. Most of them were going well, considering.

When I finally ran across Mel and Barrell, I found them in a heated discussion with Heather. Olivia seemed to be running mediator. It soon became clear they weren’t angry at each other, exactly.

“I still think that if we had a chance to study him then we would’ve found a weakness that a rank F enhanced blade could exploit,” Barrell insisted.

“Maybe, but it’s impractical for us to be able to study every Ekseliksi before we fight them,” Heather objected. Her cheeks were flushed red. “Not only would a high voltage electric surge have the possibility of bypassing his defense, but it would also have the chance of damaging internal organs at the same time.”

Remembering what Liam had said to me, I was relieved to see them going at it. They certainly hadn’t lost their will to fight.

Mel on the other hand was quiet, which wasn’t exactly odd for him these days. Ever since he’d gone from the timid go lucky guy I’d first met to this stoic, determined version of himself, I was more worried about him than I’d been before.

Noticing I was there, he didn’t announce my presence, but gave me a long look. The fire inside him hadn’t gone out. If anything, I saw more of it than ever before.

As he gave me an all-telling nod, I released a deep breath I didn’t know I’d been holding in. My main crew, the guys I relied on the most, were still keeping it together. If they were alright, then whatever came next I could face without worry.

Soon, there were a few thousand of us crowded in the courtyard two hundred feet below top of the rampart. Above, only Victoria, Peter, and Oliver stood with a few of their intelligence officers. Liam was included.

Everything felt a little off. Things had changed, and Vanguard certainly wasn’t Freedom, but I spent so much time at Victoria’s side guarding her, not being up there with her made me uncomfortable. She’d also been quieter than usual. I’d taken longer to wake up after my recent death, so she was likely just giving me time to recover.

I spotted Destiny’s new drone body hover high overhead. It seemed Victoria was still making use of her tech to organize and relay communications, which was also curious. It certainly wasn’t necessary.

“Destiny,” I said under my breathe. “Is Victoria aware of your new brain?”

“Hmmm. She has access to my specs, but hasn’t spoken to me about them, or let on that she’s noticed the changes happening to me. Should I breach the topic?”

“No. Don’t hide anything, but I’ll try to speak with her when I get the chance.”

“Okay. We’re getting ready to begin. She’s giving me instructions now.”

I interrupted Barrell and Heather’s conversation and relayed the information to them. It was just then that Barrell realized I was there and cuffed me on the shoulder.

The mischief in the look Heather gave me was just as notable as before. It seemed she was just fine.

“Good afternoon,” Victoria said, her voice buzzing through my headset. The crowd grew quieter. Looking up, I saw her standing in her battledress looking down upon us. “Welcome back, Prodos. Most of you have already heard the news. We won Vanguard’s first day event.”

There were a number of cheers that rose up, but the solemnity of her tone kept them to a minimum.

“It was an event we were supposed to lose.” That one comment brought almost a complete hush to the crowd. “Yesterday, we faced a rank D Ekseliksi elite, while most of our competition face an opposing Ekseliksi battalion with one hundred rank E psionic soldiers as officers. Their challenge would’ve been a difficult one for any battalion to combat, including ours. But as the battalion with the most fame, the Devs decided to make an example of us. We have the least number of rank E psionic users out of any of the top battalions, yet our challenge was by far the most difficult. The excuse they’ve given is that they wanted the world to know how dangerous high level psionic users can.” Her pacing and emphasis grew even more intense. “However, we know the truth. This event was designed to humiliate us. We were supposed to admit defeat, if not get wiped out altogether. What they didn’t expect was for us to not only survive, but to defeat this impossible enemy. They don’t know you as I do.”

In the brief silence between breathes, I felt the growing tension from unintentional pressure being released from so many psionic users surrounding me.

“Some of the military’s leadership believe that Freedom was little more than a publicity stunt. They see us use formations and tactics for an ancient era. Our discipline looks lax, on the surface. They don’t respect what you’ve been through, and yesterday, you threw it back in their face. They saw that when battle comes, our blood earned experience has melded you into a machine of war. Most of us weren’t trained in the art of war as they were. It was through pain, suffering, and death that we learned this art.”

As much as I was moved by the fury beneath her words, I was even more concerned seeing how much it had affected her. She was a genuinely passionate person, but this was even a lot for her.

“I’m pleased to announce, that their mistake has become our reward. Let me begin by calling out names.” It wasn’t clear to me at first what group of people she was calling. I knew most of them, but there was no obvious order. She didn’t start with any officer, but well known members of some of the battalion’s top squads. It was only when she mentioned Vector’s men back to back that I realized what she was doing. She was calling out the names of the men and women that had died in yesterday’s last battle in the order in which they died.

Kline’s name was called, quickly followed by Huan’s. My old guildmate had made quite a statement yesterday, despite not unlocking his psionics yet. I couldn’t help but to feel a welling up of pride. I then had an interesting thought. HandshakeDeath had always been a rogue type, but Freedom had forced him to fight in a much more in your face method. I wasn’t sure if he’d want to change how things currently were working. Bringing him and Huan together with the other stealth-minded participants could provide the battalion a completely new toolset. Barrell and his scouts already leaned in that direction, but they relied on speed as much as stealth. Having a pure stealth squad, or even a full company, could be even more powerful in the right circumstances.

Without really thinking, I said what I was thinking, directing it to Victoria. She’d finished calling out everyone’s name, ending with mine.

Unexpectedly, she replied. “I think that’s a fantastic idea. We can discuss it after we’re done here.”

“Great,” I said, not wanting to interrupt more than I already had.

The next instant, I heard her voice again, but it was direct to everyone. She explained what I’d already guessed. These were the names of the soldiers that had died at the Ekseliksi elite’s hands. “A bonus of 250,000 SP+ has been rewarded by the Vanguard devs to each player that died.”

As she said it, I saw a line of text appeared at my eyeline and float up.

Gained 250,000 SP+

“Do note that there is a difference between SP and SP+. SP+ has the same value in the Vanguard store as SP does, but, because it’s rewarded by the government through the simulation, it can’t be exchanged for real world money. This limitation will only apply in certain situations. As we leave our fortification and explore planet Hectate, any SP earned through the discovery of new resources will be exchangeable currency. Any SP rewarded by Prodos will also be exchangeable.”

250,000 SP for me wasn’t really a large sum anyways, but I wasn’t happy about not being able to exchange it. I thought I understood their reasoning enough not to be too bothered about it, though. If every participant who was rewarded SP exchanged it for real world currency, then the resources the military wanted to put into Vanguard could’ve been spent elsewhere. Not letting us exchange it would force us to spend it in simulation. It was forgivable.

Victoria continued, “Now for the rest of your rewards.”

A new popup box appeared off center in my vision. It was a scoreboard of the participants in our battalion and their prizes. A thousand voices started murmuring all at once.

The top ten participants were mostly what I’d expected with a few exceptions. I came in third, winning 53,000,000 SP+. Harrison came in first, I assumed because of the surprises he’d pulled with the snuggle-bot mechs and drones. He pulled in 62,000,000 SP+. Kline was next with 56,000,000 SP+. Considering the rewards were likely based on our performance plus the number of viewers we pulled in, it made sense. I’d probably had the biggest single moment, but Kline and Harrison had likely had longer extensions of large numbers of viewers than I had. After all, they’d both pulled out new equipment and tactics. I mostly done what everyone had seen me do in the past, expected now I was powered up.

I was thrilled to see Captain Ma had made the top ten coming in in ninth place with 37,000,000 SP+. It was mostly those in leadership that made the list since their men’s performance also partially counted as their own since they had given the orders. Even Victoria was on the list, but she only came in seventh.

“Highlight all of my men on the list and remind me to speak to each of them later,” I sent to Destiny.

Peter had taken over, praising the overall effort everyone had put in. “Prodos will also be rewarding the best performing squads after we start bringing in funds through exploration.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel,” Victoria said, stepping forward again to speak. “As you might know, we were forced to accelerate our base’s expansion in yesterday’s event. Many of your superior officers pooled their own funds to help ensure our victory. Thank all of them when you have the chance. Now, let’s take a look at the battalion scoreboard.”

To the opposite side of the participant scoreboard, another window appeared.

1st Place – Prodos – 1,000,000,000 BP

2nd Place – Lethal Accord – 750,000,000 BP

3rd Place – Forefathers – 500,000,000 BP

“As you can see, we have a sizable lead after this first event, but because of the amount of Battalion Points rewarded, any battalion could catch up to us this early in Vanguard. I’d originally planned to hold back our base’s end design as a surprise for the later rounds, but too much has been revealed already. So we’ve decided instead to go all out from the very start. With a billion BP to spend, Fort Prodos will soon undergo another transformation.”

Even though people were trying to remain quiet, the storm of whispers were still as blaring as a hurricane.

The sun seemed to dim, and I looked up, spotting the system assisted construct in the sky. It was no where near the size that the forts walls had been when I first seen them appear in the same place. As the construct fell, I saw its basic design. One of the cylindrical buildings I recognized immediately. It was a second psi-converter that would land near the southwest by the inner wall opposite from the first that had been an emergency install when the Ekseliksi elite arrived. Remembering what Victoria had said, it would help stabilize the domed shield that protected the fort.

The shield itself drew back like a mass of quickly retreating clouds. When down, the construct fell into place. With the second converter installed, its effects were made known the second the protective shield over our fort was back in place. Before its psionic energy had fluctuated between rank E and D. Now, it no longer dipped down into rank E territory.

The second converter wasn’t the only new installation. People were made to move back as a new domed building landed a few dozen yards from the inner gate. It wasn’t just the northern gate that received one either, but all four gates had one.

“And spending a billion Battalion Points is that easy,” Victoria said with a chuckle. “The buildings just installed near the inside of the inner gates are Psionic Recovery Chambers.” She motioned with her hand toward the domed building that stood only a story tall and was large enough for a few hundred people if they crowded inside. “They are exactly what they sound like. Any excess psionic energy from the converters will be funneled to these recovery chambers. If you are running low on energy, during a battel for instance, with permission, you will be able to enter one of these chambers and the internal environment will help you recover your energy at a much faster rate. They are the reason why we have invested most of our funds into psionic friendly construction and will continue to do so. They were to be our secret weapon, but even with the secret made known, Fort Prodos’s will still become one of the most formidable cities in the known universe. With that said, there is still a long way to go. We need at least another reactor and two more converters for the foundation to complete the foundation of Fort Prodos. From there, we have just scratched the surface.”

There was a chorus of hoots and hollers when she paused. The concept was an incredible one. As long as nothing happened to the reactors and our psionic users survived, we’d be able to defend ourselves perpetually.

Once again, Victoria’s voice turned grim. “We beat the expectations of the Vanguard developers, but we mustn’t grow complacent. It took everything we had to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. And let me make this very clear, we are not the first battalion to defeat an Ekseliksi elite. The men and women participating in Vanguard are Earth’s future, but there are those fighting on the frontlines today who have been fighting at this level without psionics and winning battles. Non-psionic technology still has a lot to offer. But in time, as Fort Prodos grows, and you psionics grow, I believe that we will reach a level of prowess that has rarely been seen. Now, the Lieutenant Colonel will take over and explain what will happen next. The exploration planet Hectate is about to begin.”

When Peter stepped forward, he wore a rare smirk. “If you think that exploring this planet will be a boring affair, it’s my duty to inform you’d be sorely mistaken. The same people who thought it would be a great idea to send a rank D Ekseliksi elite to our doorstep, have populated our planet with monsters and Ekseliksi cells. But where danger lies, rewards hide also. So this is what we’re going to do.”

As Peter began his explanation, I received a private message from Victoria. “Meet me at the PRC, or Psionic Recovery Chamber, below. There’s something you need to see.”