Codename: Freedom - Book 3 - Chapter 46

“Barrell. You alright?” I said, private messaging him.

“Yeah. It’s over?” He replied, breathing heavy.

“We did it.”

“That’s great. By the way, never get eaten alive. I’m going to have nightmares for a month.”

“I believe you. I’m going to leave the voice channel open. A room opened at the back of the Shadow King’s lair. There’s a general guy there and I’m pretty sure you’re going to want to hear what he says.”

“Alright.”

Victoria led the way as we approached the man in uniform. He was balding with hard wrinkles at the corner of his eyes and brow showing the signs of aging. Naturally, it would have put him in his fifties, but with modern tonics, the man had to be close to one hundred years old. His eyes were bright and friendly, and he filled his shirt with a tone physique. Despite the cheery atmosphere, he put off, I had a strong suspicion he was a person to be very wary of.

Walking beside me was my favorite human tank. Something was wrong. Kline’s insistent lightheartedness was gone, and he eyed the general with an intensity that bordered on anger.

Peter stepped up, placing his hand on Victoria’s shoulder to offer her support. They shared a look as we entered the modern room, that reminded me of what we’d left behind when entering Freedom.

Still holding his wrist as if his hand pained him, Mel was right there with me. Our men crowded in behind.

Sitting back in his chair, crossing his arms, the general studied each of our faces and began listing off our names in turn. He ended with me, which could have meant something, or nothing at all.

“I am Lieutenant General Robert Mack. As we speak, every participant in Freedom is receiving a popup notifying them of the video that is about to play for all of you to see. I will not lie. I am here to recruit you.” He said it was such earnestness. 

Barrell confirmed that he’d gotten the notification.

“I’m sure you have already put two and two together.” The general continued. “Codename: Freedom is only the second stage of an ongoing program to find and train people with psionic potential. I want to invite you to participate in the next stage. If you decide to continue, you will be our Freedom Generation. Unlike the Genesis Generation, you were not soldiers. It may have begun that way, but the world knows that that had changed.”

“Now, before I say more, there’s something you need to see.”

The room went black. In the distance, the moon began to rise near the horizon. A shirtless black boy stood, gazing up at the stars in wide-eyed wonder. He leaned against his spear as it rested against the ground. 

The scene flashed to another. A young girl about the same age as the boy sat on the stairs of an old wooden porch looking up at the same stars. Her freckles were sprinkled across her nose and her auburn hair had a subtle glow in the light of the moon.

The surroundings blinked into nothingness, then a man appeared holding a women’s hand. It was the same boy and girl, but ten years later. They stood just outside a shuttle station, gazing up once again. The stars were waiting.

The shuttle launched from the ground, then there was a flash and they arrived on a space freighter. They both wore the same cream uniforms with red trim. They were among hundreds of other people that had signed up to help mine in a far solar system. A convoy of space freighters burned fuel as they followed a battle cruiser toward their destination somewhere in the great expanse of space.

Another flash and they were bouncing hand in hand across the surface of a blue planet wearing breathing masks and industrial construction armor that covered them from head to toe in yellow and gunmetal.

The next moment, they were in a secluded part of an orbital station with a great view of a blue-green moon below. The man took a knee revealing a ring. The woman’s entire face lit up as she threw herself on to him, her arms open wide.

There was a ceremony. Hundreds of people where there—the woman sat anxiously in a doctor’s office, her husband holding her hand, sharing her apprehension—their first child came. Then a second a few years later.

The family of four played in a children’s play area. One of the little ones was waddling about as her father chased after her. The mother held her infant as she rocked him to sleep.

There was an explosion. I feared I already knew what would happen next. The orbital station’s warning lights flashed red. The man snatched up his daughter in his arms. From across the room, a silver bolt shot toward them. Their bodies were torn apart as the mother tried to run. An Ekseliksi soldier sprinted across the room. His silver aura visible through his faceplate. Covered in synthetic battle armor, I only got a glimpse of the alien’s reddish skin. A blade glowed silver in its hand, somehow able to use its psionic despite its gear. The woman and child were dispatched in a single swing of its blade.

A massive cafeteria appeared with thousands of people running at the sound of the disturbance. They weren’t wearing their uniforms and their families were with them. A squad of Ekseliksi soldiers in grey and black battle suits stormed into the room and began slaughtering everyone with superhuman speed. I was pulled in to catch the close up of each and every death. Psionic bolts and blades left nothing but carnage. The violence and deaths were extensive, and the video continued as it showed hundreds of people cut down.

I couldn’t help but hate the aggressors for killing those that couldn’t defend themselves. It took little effort to stay mindful that Victoria was different. She was here to stop it—to stop the death. It also caused me to fear. If she was found out to be Ekseliksi by the wrong people, how would they react?

It wasn’t the only orbital stations the video showed us. Over the last century, thirty-seven of them had been attacked. Over half of them in the last five years. These were commercial installations, not military ones. It started to make sense why our government would start looking for a way to deal with the Ekseliksi that limited the loss of life.

The room where General Mack was seated slowly came into focus. I understood the dejected look on his face, but the trembling of Victoria’s lips wrenched my attention away from him.

Stepping up, I took her hand. There were tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes, but she held them back.

“Our forces and the Ekseliksi transhumans have been fighting an unofficial war for galactic territory for decades.” The general said folding his hands together. “We have finally come to a truce of sorts, and a treaty has been signed. As mediators, the Jinhwa have created a simulation of our galaxy. The Cubes that you are in currently, is the same technology that will be using two years from now when men and women from our people and theirs will enter this simulation. Once inside, we will battle over virtual territory. Any territory we lose, we have agreed to give up. Any we gain, the Ekseliksi will do the same.”

“As you can see, this is a new kind of warfare. A kind where men and women won’t have to die…” He paused. “But you know how real Freedom is—the pain—the impact it will have on your long-term psychology we can only guess. But we need you. As you saw in the video, these transhumans have psionic abilities like you. You have only begun to find out what you’re capable of. Without you, traditional means to fight this enemy is—inadequate—at least on the ground level. Their shielding abilities,” He said gesturing to me, “their firepower…”

“It’s a lot to ask after you’ve been in here so many months, so details will be sent to each of your inboxes and you will be given time to decide. If you choose to join us, you will be enlisted as officers with a starting rank of Second Lieutenant, receiving officers pay during the next stage of training. I admit it isn’t much, but you will have accelerated advancement opportunities during the second stage, and once the war starts, you will be rewarded with each successful mission, and be able to loot any gear from the enemies you kill. This gear can be sold to military or in the player economy that will develop in time. You’re just is to fight. There will be just as many people in support roles and there will be opportunities for cubes to be purchased in the commercial sector. It’s not just the United States that’s participating. Every nation in the world has been invited to participate.” 

“The war itself will be fully observable through the Metaverse, and I’m sure you’ll have plenty of sponsors lining up to make sure you have additional backing.”

Wait. The virtual war was going to be observable in the same way Freedom was? The more I thought about it, of course, it had to be. It was an opportunity for the government to gather funds and you didn’t need to spend as much on propaganda if everyone’s favorite gamers and athletes were already fighting in the war.

“What about Freedom?” Mel said. “Is it over?”

“That is up to you. Not everyone will receive an invitation to the next stage, but even if you leave Freedom now, I can guarantee each of you a spot. There will be a few weeks before stage two begins even after Freedom’s final day, so if there is personal business you must get in order, you can do it then. Also, you will be given much more access to the outside world in stage two, and during the war. You will be able to communicate with friends and family—your fans. Though, there will be limitations to what you can discuss, as I’m sure you understand.”

“If you do stay in Freedom, the main event is over, but you can take the remaining time to explore the world, or enjoy a few of the things the surprises the developers still have in store. To be honest, I didn’t expect to be here today. We had a few things in place that we hoped would extend the world quest another couple months—”

“Heather?” I said, interrupting him.

He nodded. “Her, among other things, but you exceeded all expectations. Now you have a choice. Perhaps, if you leave, you’ll find a place to push your new abilities even further, but I think you all know that nothing else compares to the training tool you’re standing in right now. I suspect some of you will want to continue to take advantage of it while you can.” He looked at me expectantly. “There’s nothing wrong with taking some time off while you can either…”

Grabbing my wrist, Victoria gave it a firm squeeze before pulling her hand from mine. Stepping up to his desk, she folded her arms behind her back, hand in hand. “General Mack. I would like to discuss conditions.”

“Already decided, are we?” He said, twisting his head curiously.

“I require a command of my own battalion.”

He smirked. “You will have the opportunity to advance in rank during the next stage.”

She shook her head. “This is not a request. A new ranger battalion will be commissioned, and I will be given authority to handpick one thousand men and women from the Freedom roster.”

General Mack chuckled to himself as he rubbed his forehead. “You require? Do you really think we are just going to just hand over a battalion, let alone commission a new one just because you ask for one.”

“Of course.” She said without missing a beat. “The only reason I’m not asking for a brigade is that I want to give you time to access my abilities outside of Freedom. How many billions of people are watching us at this very moment?”

The general went very still.

“They have seen the great lengths that their government will go to. The carnage and suffering you have put us through... But still, I will fight—for them… And I’m not alone.”

Peter was the first to step up and stand beside her. I glanced to Kline, and he gave me a devious wink. We stepped up together. Though he had no prior knowledge of all of this, except what the general population of Freedom suspected, Mel, stepped up as well. He was followed by Andrew and Jose, and the rest our men that had survived.

“Lucius, if Victoria is, then you are in for sure, right? Do you think, Heather?” Barrell said, only hearing what was said.

I held back a laugh and answered him. “Right and will talk about your taste in women later.”

“Okay. Make sure Victoria knows I want in too.”

“Everyone can hear you.”

“Oh, so she heard? Great. I’ll, uh, shut up now.”

The entire room was looking at me. Victoria looked amused.

When the room’s attention had settled back on the general, he cracked his knuckles, then sat back. “So that’s how it is huh? I told them the clues were a bad idea. Anything else?”

“It’s a start.” Victoria continued. “You might want to take some notes.”