Chapter 165 - The Corym

Before Ceres could savour the feeling of weightlessness in all its splendour, a sudden jerk could be heard as the sound of escaping air could be heard outside the container.

“Alright, you’re not on vacation. Get into your exosuits. This sealed container wall is the only thing between us and cold hard vacuum” Tyson pointed out, waking Ceres up from his revelry.

“Last chance for an air check. Once we leave, there’s no turning back.”

Tyson was one of the rare few members in the squad who had actual space expertise. Not many rebellion agents had that sort of chance, so Ceres was curious as to how Tyson got a hold of such an opportunity.

Even though Ceres made it to space before, the Thorn Chamber was not as far away from the planet as they were now and he was essentially drugged everytime he went up to the Thorn Chamber as part of a secrecy agreement.

He also did not feel like he was in space back then, seeing as the entire Thorn Chamber had an artificial gravity field, making it seem like he was simply in another underground space.

The squad members began to don their exosuits, with Ceres performing checks on each one of them before confirming the pressure level and seals. He visually inspected for any obvious damage from the vibration of launch, but found most of the exosuits up to par, patting himself on the back for a job well done.

He started with the heaviest of them all – Shai’li’s heavy tank exosuit. It was a monster of an exosuit, bigger than anything Ceres had seen before. With the spaceborne design, it was even larger than expected.

The microgravity of space helped to alleviate the weight concerns, allowing the exosuits to be a lot bigger than their land-bound counterparts. If Shai’li tried to use the spaceborne version on land, the weight might be far too heavy for her to even move.

Ceres had already designed all of their exosuits to be able to withstand high acceleration, but that didn’t mean the structure would be easy to move on land.

“Whoo, this already feels amazing!” Shai’li complimented as she jacked into the exosuit’s nerval system, testing the movement.

Ceres did not allow Shai’li to float around in the container just yet, keeping the magnetic clamps in place. He grabbed the exosuit and propelled himself forward, weightless, moving next to Victoria in her infiltrator exosuit.

Victoria’s exosuit now came with two rifles – the one she always had slung by her right, while the heavy caliber rifle Ceres made was disassembled into two parts, slotted behind her back.

Ceres attached his multi-terminal to a debugging jack in her exosuit and ran a quick diagnostics test, nodding to himself. “All clear, you’re good to go.”

The last exosuit to check was his own, which he now donned quickly. A cool robotic voice began to echo within his brain.

[Swift Storm: Orbital Version activated.

Running Diagnostics now…

Memory System… functional

Life-support System… functional

Advanced Sensor Suite… functional

Telemetry and Telecommunications Module… functional

Nerval System… functional

Power Modules… functional, operating at 50% charge

Propulsion System… functional, all fuel tanks filled.

Check completed: 100% Functionality]

Ceres had customized the system message of his exosuit, causing a small little grin to appear on his face. “Ok, all good. We’re ready to go!”

“Hell yea, lets do this!” Shai’li cheered.

“Once we leave, don’t panic. Follow what we practiced in the simulation. Comms check now, sound off.” Tyson reminded the squad as he floated above the clamped down exosuits, himself only wearing a simple helmet with an accompanying air tank.

The majority of his body was mechanical and radiation hardened either way, so he didn’t need an air-tight protection. He did upgrade and modify his body for space travel, having an inbuilt propulsion system that allowed him to move freely in space for a short period of time.

However, his power consumption was a lot higher as he had to increase the output of the heaters to ensure the electronics in his body did not freeze up.

Ceres had helped Tyson install a few additional radiators and light-shields onto his body that could reduce the heat in-case they were in direct starlight, controlling the thermal budget.

The other squad members all tested their communications channel. There was no sound in space, so they relied on radio systems.

“Okay, on my mark…..” Tyson prepared, heading to the door of the cargo container and undoing the seal on it.

With a pneumatic hiss, the cargo container door opened outwards on mechanized hinges, causing the air within to immediately escape into the cold hard vacuum.

The nutri-paste bag were attracted to the vacuum for a short while, but the air in the cargo container was purged within a short three seconds, stabilizing everything. Ice crystals began to form on the surface of the floor and container.

Ceres could not see the star, their cargo container hidden in the shadow of Athen. However, the sight he saw through the small door opening was already majestic.

[Magnetic Clamps disabling.]

One by one, the clamps on the exosuits were released, allowing them to leave the cargo container in an orderly fashion. Shai’li floated out far beyond the cargo container in a fit of excitement, thrusting too far. She started to flail slightly, though her simulation training still kept her relatively calm.

[Calm down, Shai’li.] Tyson barked over the communications channel. [Stick to your training.]

[Easy for you to say. I’m floating out in the darkness here!] Shai’li grumbled, but she slowly got used to the feeling of weightlessness and the lack of ground as she stared between her feet.

Victoria on the other hand, was perfectly calm, controlling her movement with precision as the directional thrusters let out puffs of gas to stabilize her.

Ceres launched himself out beyond the cargo container, the view leaving him speechless.

The planet’s surface was dark, but the small dots of lights indicating towns or outposts gave him such a large sense of scale that he had never experienced before.

He looked to the stars that he had barely seen for over six years, mesmerizing by the flickers of constellations and the colorful glows of nebula. Each and every star shined brightly into his eyes like crystals.

“Can’t believe there are quadrillions of humans out there in the stars...” Ceres mumbled to himself.

The silence of space was defeaning, Ceres being able to only hear himself and his breathing, along with the thumping of blood near his ears as well as the small little hisses as his exosuit automatically orientated him and maintained his rotation.

Ceres stared back at the cargo container, noticing that the smuggling ship had dropped them off in a very high eliptical orbit. He checked the map on his heads-up display, noting that they were far beyond the range of any known enforcer satellite.

This was to be expected of course, seeing as they had to avoid detection. Ceres could rest easy that the chances of the enforcers suddenly looking this way would be almost minimal.

[Everyone clear? Pressure check.] Tyson tapped his helmet, reminding the other three to ensure that their air wasn’t leaking. Ceres checked his heads-up display, a whole swarm of informational lines appearing around his viewport in his helmet. “Pressure seems stable enough.”

Ceres and the others all gave a thumbs up, to which Tyson nodded in acknowledgement.

[The ship is within range, about 50 kilometres that way. I have the tracker, follow me to the rendevous point.] Tyson sent the coordinates to the squad and began to jettison his way upwards, or whichever way Ceres felt was ‘up’.

The loss of direction in space made Ceres fairly confused. He did train in the VR pods as well, but the real thing was a lot more distracting.

He glanced back down on the planet, staring at the small lights. The scale was beginning to really sink in for him. Just how many people were on the planet, and how small did everyone’s problem really feel now?

Did the conflict between outers and inners really matter that much?

[‘Dumpling’, don’t get distracted. Focus!] A sharp order from Tyson shook him out from his mesmerisation. The rest of the squad were already floating off into the distance.

Activating his thrusters, Ceres caught up, maintaining a clear distance of separation from the rest to prevent any mishaps.

[Wow, space is really amazing.] Shai’li whistled in appreciation as she twisted her exosuit around, observing the stars. [If only I could train my body to travel into space without an exosuit, then I can truly feel the environment.]

[Or you can go half mechanical like me. Works too.] Tyson replied.

[Don’t be ridiculous, that’s like me giving up on my own body!] Shai’li frowned.

Ceres too took the time to appreciate the stars. How many other human nations were out there? He recalled one of his daydreams to become a starship captain and travel through space. “Doesn’t seem like too bad of an idea now…” Ceres muttered to himself.

However, he had much more important things to do now than think about daydreams. Lisa and Braton were waiting for him. He needed to save them, and he would do everything in his power to make sure they were safe.

A few minutes passed in silence as each squad member took in the view and experience for themselves. Each member could only hear the small little clicks and ticks their exosuits, accompained by tiny puffs as their exosuit automatically adjusted their trajectory to match with Tyson.

[Hey, where the hell is the starship by the way? It says we’re within ten kilometers now, I should be able to see it with my own eyes!] Shai’li asked.

Tyson rolled his eyes, though no one could see it that clearly through his helmet. [It’s a stealth vessel, of course you won’t be able to see it until we get closer.]

Ceres checked his approach velocity to the supposed ship. They were moving at a steady fifty meters per second towards the ship. In space, the speeds were all relative to a frame.

Right now, if they were taking in their actual ‘ground’ speed it would be thousands of kilometers per second.

Soon, a sudden shimmering could be seen in the distance, revealing a hazy figure of an oblong-shape. Ceres couldn’t really tell the size in space, it being his first time, but from his estimation it was about fifty meters long and twenty meters wide.

The surface of the shape was extremely sleek and curved, but something about the panels caused their vision to be distorted. It felt like they were looking into a glass bubble that refracted the background that ebbed and flowed.

[Damn, is that the ship? Why is it so fuzzy and censored like some holo-drama for kids?] Shai’li squinted.

Tyson didn’t bother correcting her any longer, his thrusters firing forwards in front of him and causing his relative speed to slow to a crawl. His eyes glowed, using the inbuilt thermal scanners to try and see if there was anyone in the ship.

[Hmm, looks like we’re the first to the ship. Let’s set up and prepare a welcome for the other half of the squad as per planned.] Tyson began to motion to Ceres to head towards the ship.

Suddenly, four objects launched out from the starship, spreading out in all directions.

They began to encircle Ceres’s team from all directions – up, down, left, right.

[Shit, they arrived first! Dodge!] Tyson warned.

Ceres’s simulation training and instincts kicked in, his thrusters firing wildly to avoid getting hit.

[Warning: Wargame Exercise Mode activated. Virtual Beams visualized. First team to lose all members loses.]

A barrage of virtual beams lanced across his visor, narrowly missing him as his body tumbled into a erractic roll.

Despite the obvious discomfort from the disorientating view, Ceres relied on the exosuit sensors, which managed to cancel out the current movement effects and stabilize his firing.

While his body jerked in various directions with large puffs of gas, Ceres retrieved his own energy rifle, aiming at the nearest target.

Looking down the sights integrated into his helmet, he tried to recognize the exosuit that he was aiming at.

[Who am I fighting this time?] Ceres thought to himself, but he steadied his aim against the continuously rotating backdrop of the planet’s dark horizon.

Squeezing the trigger, no actual physical energy beam came out, but he could see the virtual beam on his visor hit the target dead on in the first hit.

The moment the virtual beam hit the target exosuit, it began to lock up, preventing the pilot inside from moving it any longer. For all purposes, it was dead!

[Kill confirmed: Pris]

A small little smirk appeared on Ceres’s face. “That’s what you get for aiming at me first again,” he smugly said to himself.

Ceres glanced over to the rest of his squad, and noticed that Victoria was already ‘killed’ from the start of the wargame. “Shit, I forgot she doesn’t have an energy rifle to mock battle with.”

Shai’li was not doing any better either, using her deployed tower shield to block as many of the virtual beam shots coming in from her two assailants. [HEY HELP ME OUT HERE, I’M TANKING EVERYTHING!] She yelled on the comms.

Ceres immediately jettison towards her, controlling his orientation as he fired off a few shots at one of the assailants.

The assailant showed a remarkable reaction speed, his exosuit merely letting out a puff of gas to push him towards the side, narrowly dodging the incoming virtual beam.

With a quick flick, the assailant fired off three shots at Ceres, who frantically used his thrusters to burst out of the way.

A normal human would not be able to react that quickly to beams that travelled at the speed of light, but Ceres could rely on something else – the hostility of the assailant.

Reading the signs before an attack was crucial to Ceres’s dodging, allowing him to read such attacks.

The assailant was not flustered, merely keeping track of both Ceres and Shai’li, who finally had some breathing room to shoot back.

[TRYING TO BULLY ME?! TAKE THIS XANDER!] She shot wildly at the other assailant, who deployed an energy shield to block.

A hearty laugh echoed through the comms, signalling the entry of a new participant.

[It’s all part of the wargames, Shai’li. Don’t let it get to you!] Xander laughed as he thrusted forward with his energy shield, moving closer towards Shai’li.

[Oh? You want to fight me in a melee?!] Shai’li grinned and pushed forward as well. In an instant, their shields collided, forming a brillant spark, but they soon flew apart from each other, both their exosuits locked.

[Kill confirmed: Xander. Squad member deceased: Shai’li]

[WHAT?! I only got knocked back.] Shai’li complained just as her communications module was locked down. Dead people couldn’t talk after all.

Ceres sighed, forced to face the remaining assailant. They were still shooting at each other at incredible ranges, but he already knew who it was – Josef.

“Damn he’s good,” Ceres secretely praised his opponent, the two of them weaving around in circles trying to outflank each other.

[Kill confirmed: Riker]

“Huh?” Ceres was shocked, but couldn’t afford to divert attention away from Josef, who was currently on the verge of outgunning him.

“This means Tyson defeated him, but how? Riker’s pratically immune to ranged attacks in space.”

The duel between Ceres and Josef carried on for a minute, neither side willing to let up an inch. Ceres had already lost count of the number of shots he had fired, but it must have been in the thousands at this point.

Frustrated, Ceres decided to risk it and get a bit closer, increasing his chance to hit. Josef did not back down, accepting the head on challenge as they circled each other, spiralling in arcs that frequently changed trajectories.

They looked like two zig-zagging bees dogfighting in the vast empty vacuumn of space, slowly getting closer to each other. Then, Ceres spotted his chance, activating his thrusters far beyond the usual amount and accelerating forward!

The sudden acceleration caught Josef off-guard, the last shot going wide as he instinctively withdrew his pistol to fight in close quarters!

However, before Josef could take a shot at the accelerating Ceres, his hands and legs began to twitch uncontrollably, making weird motions and funny handsigns. [What the..?]

His exosuit suddenly locked into place, making him drift and tumble slowly into the distance.

[Kill confirmed: Josef. Wargame completed.]

At the sound of that message, all the locked exosuits suddenly unlocked, allowing the ‘dead’ members to regain motion and comms.

[What the hell Josef?! Do you even know how to use the exosuit?] Pris asked with a hint of frustration, obviously angered by the display of weird movements.

[It wasn’t me, Tyson hacked my exosuit from afar.] Josef complained, with Riker nodding vehemently in agreement. Both of them were hacked by Tyson, though Riker tried to distract him as long as possible.

Ceres was amazed. [You can hack from a distance too? I thought a physical connection is needed.]

[I do need a physical connection, which is why I have these little guys.] Tyson pointed to his biceps, which opened up to reveal small little bug-like drones, capable of crawling on a surface. [As long as these guys get to the nerval jack, it’s an instant win for me.]

[HEY, WHY DID I GET ‘KILLED’ WHEN WE BASHED OUR SHIELDS TOGETHER? I DIDN’T FEEL ANYTHING!] Shai’li roared on the communication line.

[I think the wargame system believes the shock received would have concussed a normal person...] Xander contemplated, himself also having been ‘killed’ through the same event.

The members bickered about the wargame before a tired female voice reminded them where they were.

[Can you all please get into the ship first? It’s tiring me out trying to cover for you guys....] Amelia mumbled with an annoyed tone, reminding them to go back inside. She had remained out of the battle, staying in the starship as the main person in charge of ensuring that no one else saw the wargame.

Tyson and the squad immediately agreed. They couldn’t remain out in space much longer, having wasted quite a significant amount of their thruster fuel in the battle exercise.

This sort of combat drill was what they had been practicing over time, as they had to prepared for the event in which their stealth vessel was attacked by enforcers.

“Space combat is really hard...” Ceres still hadn’t gotten the hang of how to truly utilize his strength in space. With no ground to push against, his speed and strength was mostly reliant on how good his propulsion system was rather than his own body.

It did not matter how strong he was on the ground if he could not exert it in space. “Hopefully it will be different when we’re on Haui’s Moon and inside the prison.”

As the members began to approached the starship, the distorted glass bubble began to crack open, a sliding door revealing a brightly lit airlock large enough to fit a main battle tank.

Ceres floated into the airlock with the rest of the exosuits, slowly thrusting downwards to magnetically attach to the metal floor. They walked over to a docking station, a platform for their exosuits which made it easier to transport it through the starship.

The airlock’s hatch closed, followed by a strong gust of air as it flooded the chamber. Sound gradually returned, and Ceres could again hear the metal clicks and whirring movements of the other exosuits. Clamps from each individual platform latched against the feet of their exosuits.

[Warning: Artifical Gravity of 0.75 g in Airlock #3 enabling in 5....]

A sudden jolt caused the exosuit to creak under the weight significantly, as Ceres lost the feeling of weightlessness, though it was not to the same degree as on Athen.

[Sequence completed: Welcome to the Corym.]