War Core Wednesday! War Core 3, Chapter 16.

Chapter 16.

Termination is interrupted, potential alternative options are loading.

1. Battle Pits. No additional applicants are being accepted at this time.

2. Internal Defense Forces…error…connection to this option has been severed, maintenance teams have been notified.

3. Combat Trials. The baseline observer ratings have been met for this option.

4. Complete Termination. Available.

Please wait…

Please wait…

Final options have been reviewed. Select one of the following.

1. Entry into the Combat Trials.

2. Continue with permanent termination.

Hugh wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but it looked like the odds hadn’t landed in his favor this time but the GCA was giving him an out. He tried to open any kind of information tab on the Combat Trials option, but the system refused to give him anything. With the only other option being death, Hugh chose Combat Trials.

You have selected Combat Trials. A Combat Trial will test your overall skill and ability to command. The trials can take many forms and are tailored for the individual core, but all involve combat in a form that should be familiar to a war core. Your performance in the trial will determine whether you can return to your previous duty, and potentially unlock additional rewards based on various scoring factors. Please wait while a suitable Combat Trial is constructed.

Hugh could do nothing but wait. He was disconnected from his core, that much he could tell. While being inside a war core wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience, he at least could feel something. Wherever he was now was a vast nothingness, as his consciousness was held in a kind of limbo while he waited on the whims of the GCA. Time passed strangely here, with nothing to anchor him, the wait could be taking moments or centuries before another prompt appeared.

A Combat Trial has been selected for you and will adhere to the following parameters.

1. You must fight your way to the end of the trial without your core’s avatar being destroyed. If you are destroyed on the battlefield and do not possess a core reconstitution module, your existence will be terminated.

2. Supporting units will be commanded by a small pool of combat pod operators that will be drawn from those slated to be casualties in your last battle. Their terminations will be placed on hold until the end of the trial. If they survive the trial, they will be returned, unharmed, to their combat pods.

3. At the completion of each stage of the trial, you will be allowed a brief time to repair and refit, please be expedient in your efforts or a penalty will be imposed.

4. Observers may task you with optional objectives, and you may complete these as you see fit. Failure to complete them will not result in a penalty of any type, but completing them will offer various rewards. Observers may also present specific inquiries to either you or the combat pod operators under your command. You may answer these at your discretion, and again, no penalties will be associated with a failure to answer any observer questions. No reward is typically offered for answering an inquiry.

You will now be transported to the Combat Trial.

Hugh wasn’t sure what to expect, and while he was still inside the strange limbo, he could begin to feel something as the GCA transferred him to whatever this Combat Trial was. Sight returned to him suddenly, and Hugh found himself looking around a large square room, the walls, floor, and ceiling were all created from metal. It was like a prison cell, no, not quite that, more like a compartment on a ship. He couldn’t feel any motion to indicate if he was at sea, and Hugh wasn’t sure he would be able to tell if he was in space, given the advanced technology the GCA had at its command.

Welcome to the Combat Trial. This is the starting zone that will present you with some simple challenges to help acclimate you. Your first objective is to defeat any hostile forces inside the starting area. Take some time to review your new form and make your starting selections.

The prompt unlocked the ability to shift his point of view, allowing Hugh to get his first look at the body the GCA had crafted for him. It was bizarre, his body looked like his real physical form, but it was completely crafted in the same alloy that his mechs were made from. He stood about six feet tall and could feel and control his metal body felt almost like his real one, save for being a bit wobbly on his feet. A few laps around the square room were enough to get the hang of things and once he felt confident in his stride, a small panel opened on one of the walls, revealing a shining chrome hand scanner, the surface rippling as if it was liquid metal.

Access the Logistics Interface to select your starting gear.

Hugh walked over and touched scanner, new prompts filled his vision as he did so.

Welcome to the Logistics Interface. Access to the interface is offered at a limited number of locations during your combat trials. It is here where you will purchase the gear, units, and upgrades that you’ll need to survive. The currency for this system is called Requisition Points. You will accumulate these by overcoming challenges and defeating your enemies in battle. Your current balance is 0, but some starter gear has been provided to get you on your way.

Nothing else appeared, and Hugh wasn’t even given a preview of what he could purchase. Instead, the panel to the interface opened wider and a plastic storage container was pushed out. Touching the container caused it to dissolve, the strange tech of the GCA at work once again. Inside the crate was the familiar shape of a plasma rifle, and what looked like an armored plate that was shaped to match his chest.

Hugh picked up the plasma rifle, finding that it had a mounting bracket on top of it that fit easily into attachment points under his arms. Being right-handed, Hugh attached the weapon under that arm, and an ammunition counter appeared, showing he had 100 rounds of whatever it used for ammunition remaining. There was also a fire selector switch that gave him the option of semi-auto, 3-round burst, and full-auto. Hugh activated semi-auto, he didn’t know if or when he would get more ammo, so spray and pray wasn’t going to be a smart combat tactic for him at this point.

Like the plasma rifle, the armored plate was easily mounted to attachment points on his chest. Once in place, the armor shifted into a liquid form and flowed out to cover the entire surface of his body. He now had a thin layer of liquid armor that would help to absorb and dissipate damage. A HUD appeared in his vision, showing Hugh his status, and helpfully including a targeting reticle for his plasma rifle. After a few minutes of tinkering, he adjusted the HUD to where it gave him the information he needed without taking up too much of his field of vision.

War Core Status.

Hugh Logan, Tier 1 Bipedal Mech Avatar.

Functionality: 100%.

Offensive Options:

1. Plasma Rifle, Tier 1, with 100 rounds of ammunition.

2. Melee Attack, bludgeoning damage, Tier 0.

Defenses:

Armor: 25.

You have equipped your gear and have been given sufficient familiarization time to prepare yourself. Enter through the hatchway and eliminate any hostile forces, your Combat Trial begins now.

A hatchway on the far wall opened with a clang that almost caused Hugh to fire his plasma rifle in that direction. Thankfully, he was spared the embarrassment of firing into an empty hallway and wasting a precious round of ammo. Just outside the hatchway was a short hallway that curved to the right. The hallway was made of the same alloy material that the compartment he was standing in was made of, reinforcing the idea that he was on a ship of some kind. Without any other options, Hugh moved down the hallway, searching for targets with his plasma rifle.

As he walked, the screech of metal scratching on metal was heard in the distance. Hugh tried to move quietly, but his mech body wasn’t exactly stealthy. With heavy footfalls announcing his approach, the scratching sound ceased and was replaced with tapping that was getting closer to him. Hugh fired instinctively when another mech scampered into view, and the sight of the thing in front of him caused Hugh to switch to full auto and hose it down in plasma rounds.

He had never liked spiders, and the metal monstrosity charging toward him was exactly that. It wasn’t some construction bot or combat drone walking on multiple legs, nope, this mech was the exact replica of a giant black widow spider, complete with the red hourglass shape etched into its abdomen. He didn’t know what it would do if it caught up to him, and he made sure he didn’t find out. The spider mech shuddered as the rounds hammered into its lightly armored chassis. After burning up far more ammo than was necessary, the mech collapsed into a half-melted heap.

“Get ahold of yourself, Hugh, it’s a mech, not a real spider, quit wasting ammo,” Hugh thought to himself. Taking a moment to gather his wits, Hugh approached the destroyed enemy, a prompt appearing when he neared its remains.

Congratulations, you have defeated your first opponent in the Combat Trial. Enemies will be crafted from your personal experiences as well as input from previous participants of the Trials. You have received 1 Requisition Point. Each foe you defeat will generate requisition points, but you need to be in close proximity to collect them. Occasionally, foes will drop additional rewards, and to demonstrate that, a minor reward has been generated.

Hugh could see a small glow appear under the ruined spider, and when he reached toward the glow, it disappeared, and his ammo count increased by one. Not a great reward, but every extra round of ammo was important. To that end, Hugh double-checked that he had set his weapon back to semi-auto. The GCA had access to his mind, at least enough to craft opponents that resembled things that he feared. This was going to be a test of wills as well as of combat prowess, he had to keep the fear or emotion at bay. Hugh had learned much in his tenure as a war core, and he would use that knowledge to keep himself alive here in this crazy trial.

Mentally prepared now for more spiders, Hugh continued down the hallway. He didn’t hear the ticking of pointy metal legs on the floor, but that didn’t mean that there were no threats. If these things resembled spiders, they might have some of their abilities, so Hugh would have to look out for them dangling from the ceiling as well as scuttling across the floor. The passage ended at another hatchway, sealed with a large wheel, like the hatch on a ship. Scratches marred the surface of the hatch where the spider had been trying to punch through with its legs, but the hatch seemed far too sturdy for spider legs to dig through it.

With nowhere else to go, Hugh spun the wheel, and with the hinge squealing in protest, he opened the hatch. The scene that greeted him wasn’t what he expected. Inside was another square compartment about the same size as the one he started in. Alerted by the noisy hatch opening, three more of the spider mechs turned toward him. They weren’t alone, either, as inside the room three humanoid-shaped bundles squirmed on the floor. The spiders had been wrapping them up for dinner, but instead of webs, the mechs extruded thin cables that seemed to be just as sticky.

“All right, who’s first?” Hugh asked as suppressed the instinct to run away screaming like a little girl, and instead began to calmly put single-shot rounds from his plasma rifle on target. A few spider mechs weren’t going to be able to stop him, he hoped.

The spiders scuttled forward, causing Hugh to retreat. His new body allowed him to walk backward, his internal sensors monitoring for obstacles as he fired at the attacking mechs. Lightly armored, it didn’t take long for the first spider to fall from his efforts. The second one was just crossing the hatchway he was backing away from before it collapsed. Unfortunately for Hugh, he only had time to land two hits on the final spider mech before it crashed into him. The size of a Doberman, the mech had enough mass to knock Hugh down. Horrible fangs, dripping green goo slammed into his shoulder.

In his HUD the armor total dropped, the liquid defense absorbing some of the impacts but not preventing the fangs from digging into him. Pain flared as the spider pumped whatever venom a mech could produce into him. His shots had hit the thing in the abdomen and sheared off one of its legs, but they didn’t seem to hamper its movements much. Hugh was able to get the arm with the plasma rifle mounted to it angled toward the spider. Making sure wasn’t going to shoot himself, Hugh started to fire, the close range causing some of the plasma to splash on him and burn away even more of his armor.

Unlike the minor damage he was inflicting on himself, the rifle was devastating to the spider mech and after three shots, it began to spark and twitch, releasing its bite as the mech shut down. The pain in his shoulder continued, despite the fact he was no longer being bitten. Hugh lay there for a second, checking his status to see how badly he was hurt.

Functionality: 88%.

Armor: 14.

A corrosive agent has been pumped into your avatar, you are taking 1% damage per second for the next five seconds.

The burning pain continued until the acid that the spider injected into him dissipated. He was now down to 83% functionality and would need to avoid coming into melee range of spider mechs with acid for venom. Regaining his feet, Larson scanned for additional threats. Other than the three twitching bodies that the spiders had wrapped up, he was alone. It was time to see who the spiders had invited to dinner.