The second the world formed around me, I collapsed to the ground. Keeping my balance was hard.
My uniform had changed itself. Energy visibly radiated from my right shoulder pad, indicating that my personal shield generator was online. Strapped to my back was my gear.
TSFF marine squads had different roles, and naturally, I had a role chosen as well.
I was an enforcer- equipped with the Phalanx combat shield and the D-8-22 Acid shotgun. In addition, like every marine, I was equipped with a number of stim needles, injections that nullified pain and restored wounds.
“Nick, how did those stim needles work again?”
“An engineer explained it to me once. Nanobots programmed to assist a Pyuntian’s regular bodily functions enter its system and hasten natural processes, in addition to neutralizing neural pain reception. The-”
“One minute before battle start.”
We both looked up at the ceiling for a second when the sarge’s voice announced our situation. Normally, I would’ve made battle preparations as soon as I warped in, but I didn’t care a lot about this battle anyways. After all, my goal had been to make good impressions towards our fellow second years, but with Nick’s introduction, that mission kind of failed. I would speak to him about it later.
We were in a primitive stone construction, with a transparent energy shield blocking the only exit. A digital timer was embedded in it, counting down, and behind it was a blue flag, moving in the virtual wind. The simulated sun was bright, and it seemed that we were in a jungle. After cities, my preferred environment!
Parallel to the exit was a screen, a map. Nick was already inspecting it, and I joined him. We were to put some effort into this sparring battle. As per usual, the map was perfectly symmetrical, providing equal opportunities to both sides. I immediately fell over some details.
“The middle path is suicide. There are over six positions to ambush attackers from. The sniper position is not worth it- just revealing yourself to be there spells your doom.”
“Agreed. I believe we should engage as a pair, travelling over the hills.”
I nodded and took a hand to my chin. Travelling as a pair sounded awkward to me, since my combat shield would normally make me an invincible one on one fighter, but I learned that in these small-scale training matches, my shield was made over five times as weak. Normally, the Phalanx could absorb the hit of an Ardunn-class battle tank, but here, it could barely hold up to a few salvos of infantry fire.
“And the battle begins!”
As the gates opened, cries of war sounded from the other side of the battlefield. Our opponents didn’t lack motivation. I messaged Nick through my hud.
“Alright, Nick. After me. We’re advancing through the western hills. That’ll give us the best vantage point against most other routes.”
“Acknowledged, Vincent dude.”
Nick readied his weapon. As aspiring heavy weapons operator, he wielded the dreaded TSFF plasma emitter- capable of changing the tide of entire battles. The weapon was almost bigger than he was, but Nick easily carried it around.
Slowly, heads-down, we marched through the forest. The arena of battle was a rather small area, and depending on the enemy’s tactics, we could meet them at any time.
“The blue flag has been grabbed!”
What the hell?
“Wait, what the hell?”
“Let’s split up.”
Nick, composed as ever, snapped me out of the confusion. How did they already reach our base? The only route fast enough to sustain such an advance would be…
“They took the suicide path! Head up the center hills!”
“Acknowledged.”
With me in front, we ran up one of the hills next to the valley that formed the route I so lovingly called the suicide path. I spotted Bardo in the distance, on top of the hill parallel to us, an AX-78 pulse rifle aimed my way. He wasn’t even lying down- he stood right in the open of that hill, right on top of it. I absorbed the hits he landed with my shield and charged towards him, knowing that Nick would provide me with suppressive fire.
Their tactics were obvious now- Bardo was merely distracting us. Or was it? After all, the fact that they rushed towards our flag through the center was rather straightforward. Stupid, even!
Bardo’s personal shield was soon covered by blue-black smoke, and as soon as I got in range, a single acid shotgun took him out. Thunder echoed throughout the arena, indicating that a player was temporarily taken out.
“The blue flag was captured! That’s game. Theoretical lessons in room five of this floor within thirty minutes.”
Disappointed, I sighed and threw my weapons on the ground. I didn’t care a lot about this game, but losing it to the simplest tactic imaginable left me speechless. Sometimes, I wished I could be like Nick- not care about anything at all.
It didn’t take long before we were taken out of the simulation again. I closed my eyes, and soon I was standing in simulator room eight once again.
“Pwah! Take that! Defeated fair and square!”
Bardo, his grin an annoyingly victorious smirk, instantly greeted me.
He had a finger pointed at me, closely under my chin. Torch had a similar greeting for Nick when he left his pod. He had no idea how to react, and he looked at me for advice.
Now it was my time to talk.
“Dear Bardo, you think you defeated us fair and square? Do you consider yourself and your friend Torch the better now?”
“Well, that’s the idea of winning, isn’t it? He had your flag and I fought you two. What are you trying to say?”
I noted how he referred to Lenn “Torch” as a “he” before explaining myself.
“Hmmm. You rushed in and got lucky, if you’d ask me. You don’t need to think for a long time to realize that if Nick and I had any semblance of a plan, we would’ve easily ambushed you and cut you off. Your assault was painfully risky.”
Bardo’s grin faded and one of his eyebrows twitched.
“You guys talk a lot, and it annoys me, just take your defeat,” he said, probably unable to formulate any other thoughts. “I don’t care about all of what you said. Winning is winning, man. You talk big, but do nothing.”
I shrugged.
“And by saying that you’ve made this conflict personal! I wasn’t trying to find excuses for our defeat. I have a grudge against this philosophy you follow.”
“Philosophy?”
I sighed. To converse with this boy, I had to get to the point.
“This evening, during the last free hour, we will meet at reception and have a rematch. I’ll show you the power of words.”
“Fine by me. But if we win, you two shut up and leave us alone.”
“Agreed. But if we win, you’ll let us have a beautifully long talk with you.”
I grinned and fired one of my finger guns at him. In his eyes, I could tell that he saw me as some sort of inferior life form. But now that he had directly insulted my principles and way of life, he had a fight on his hands.
“Come on, Nick,” I said. I looked sideways and Nick nodded at me, even while Torch was still talking to him. He abruptly ended his conversation and followed me out of the room, back to our chamber. I could hear our new rivals whisper behind us just before we left audible range.
“You were too straightforward again, but it was my fault,” I started.
“What do you imply?”
“I should’ve explained to you that the reason Torch dresses like she does is likely because she wishes to be seen as a boy. You greatly offended them by greeting them like that.”
“Oh. I see. Perhaps that is why Torch gal kept calling me names.”
I needed to stay vigilant for Nick’s sake. It was my wish to make friends together this school year, but our first case would prove hard. Especially if one of them challenged me like he did.
“Now, as you’ve realized, we’ve got a rematch on our hands tonight. Let’s discuss plans with Caenya after theoretical lessons.”
“Acknowledged, Vincent dude.”
“Hey guys! How was your first day of school? And goodness, Vincey, you have a huge grin on your face. Explain yourself.”
“Hehehe. I’ll tell you all about it!”
The night sky was lit by the double moons of Phargos-II, and the many, many stars. The terrace of the Academy was big, but it was always this one tree near one of the corners that we used as our meeting point. Caenya got up from her seat on the tree and rushed to hug me. I made sure to give her a warm embrace back. Her big, content blue eyes and her short but flowing black hair made her look tough, but didn’t take away from her positive, warm aura. She wore a short-sleeved shirt and short pants, and a belt where she usually kept weapons when not on military terrain. After releasing me, she gave Nick a hug as well. I had taught him to hug her back whenever she did that.
“We’ve got a battle to fight,” Nick opened. He opened his digital tablet, connected to his brain’s neural hud, and showed us a copy of the map we fought in earlier.
“Huh? Isn’t this a simulation map?” Caenya asked.
“Indeed! As warming up they assigned us to Capture the Flag against another pair. They used the most stupid rush ever to beat us, and they made it personal, so we’re planning to win the rematch.”
“Ahahaha!”
Caenya’s laughing was always welcome, and an odd contrast in our group since Nick and I rarely laughed so genuinely.
“You shouldn’t call the others stupid. You guys talk smarter than most of the officers that walk around the facility.”
“Gives us all the more privilege to call others stupid, right?”
“Noooo!”
“Heh, just kidding. They weren’t stupid. A tactic is a tactic. What was stupid is that the guy insisted that he won. As in, better than us. Check this out, we already planned out our opening.”
Nick pointed his finger to certain key positions we had identified around the map, and Caenya’s eyes intently scanned the tablet.
“And by the way, Caenya, how has your day been?”
“Oh, nothing special really. A lot of people are starting with new stuff since the new year started.”
Indeed, as a military training planet, the entire planet’s calendar was based on the Academy’s school years.
“I see.”
“Wow guys. You’ve really thought this out, huh? I’m proud of you!”
“You sound like a mother,” I answered. She tilted her head a bit and grinned.
“Perhaps I am a bit of a mother, huh?”
“Except you’re always the one that needs emotional support when things go awry, Caenya gal,” Nick countered.
“Tsss! Can’t you two grant me a single second of pride?”
“Nope. We’re real good at that,” I answered. It was the only correct answer. She pursed her lips and looked very disappointed.
“But you can be proud if you help us plan our victory. We aren’t planning to lose this one.”
“What’re you standing there for then, Vincey! Let’s move!”
Under the night sky, we plotted our strategy. We would split-advance slowly towards the two separate hills that covered every possible advancing angle our opponents could take. There was this peculiar large rock, which we could use to block one of the paths with. We identified all possible hiding positions, and invented a routine we could take to move stealthily, while checking everything around us.
Knowing that Bardo wielded an AX-78, we knew that we were best at shorter ranges. In case we had to attack a sniping position, we planned how to attack in tandem using plasma smoke-screens and distractions. The hours became minutes, and as I looked at the time through my hud, I realized we were supposed to meet imminently.
“And that does it. Thanks for all the help, Caenya, you’re the best!”
“Agreed. Your insights were unmissable, Caenya gal. Well played.”
“Heh. You know where to find me! Tell me of your victory tomorrow!”
She waved a goodbye as she left, taking the stairs down towards the nearby city. She should be proud. After all, “well played” was the highest compliment Nick could give.
“Let’s go win this fight,” I said, my determination unwavering and steadfast. “And let’s try to be nice to them afterwards.”
We marched towards the reception and met the smug, grin-wearing Torch and her action-over-word companion Bardo. We acquired access to one of the simulators, filled in the same settings as the sarge put in on us before, and entered the virtual world.
