“Get down!” Kaiden ordered. She nodded and dropped prone as he deactivated the protective dome and fired at the explosive in his adversary’s hand. It detonated and Cameron vanished. He picked the shield device up and sprinted across the lab to avoid Jaxon’s barrage. There wasn’t much room to maneuver in there.
Amber scrambled to her feet and fired at the Tsuna ace, who leapt down from his perch and vented his machine gun. He drew his pistol and sparks flashed as he held the trigger down. In a surprise move, he kicked a stool at the battle medic to knock her back, then aimed his pistol and fired. An arc of electricity struck her and she dropped her gun when she spasmed from the shock. Jaxon closed the vent on his gun, strode toward the immobilized battle medic, and drew his blade. He drove it brutally into her visor and she instantly disappeared.
Kaiden growled as she faded and fired a charged shot from his rifle. His adversary pounded a fist against his chest and a shield shimmered in place over his armor to absorb the blast. It shattered but he used the cover of the bright flash to take aim and fire. His shots struck home in his opponent’s shoulder and chest and forced him to his knees. Kaiden retrieved his last thermal and threw it over the desk he had shuffled under toward the other ace. The firing stopped for a moment while the target retreated to safety.
Cautiously, Kaiden managed to get up, but as soon as he did so, another barrage was unleashed at him. He cursed and sprinted across the lab, but it was too narrow and too cluttered, and he couldn’t build up enough speed to avoid the spray. The bullets impacted along his ribs and leg, and while his armor protected him to some degree, it wasn’t enough. He toppled but released another charged shot that his adversary dodged easily. It exploded against one of the crates that had hazard symbols painted on the sides.
It erupted and Jaxon catapulted halfway across the room. The Tsuna recovered quickly and seemed unaffected by the blast. He vented his rifle and charged his pistol as Kaiden tried to rally and stopped short when a bolt of electricity enveloped him. Normally, a partially charged shot like that wouldn’t have been enough to slow him, but his armor had already been severely compromised before the fight began. His assailant’s shots destroyed whatever shielding he’d rebuilt in the meantime and the electricity now surged through him and seared the wounds he already had. Pain flared relentlessly beneath the unremitting charge.
He gritted his teeth and managed to activate the shield device once again as he toppled. The Tsuna released a barrage against the shield with his machine gun. It definitely wouldn’t hold for much longer.
“Kaiden, prepare to take the shot,” Chiyo ordered over the comm.
For once, he didn’t backtalk as he might have been tempted to do. In his condition, he could either force himself to do that or prepare to fire. There was no way in hell he could do both. He struggled to his knees, pulled Sire’s trigger, and focused on the glow as it charged. His shield flickered as it weakened, now close to breaking. Jaxon strode closer and continued to fire before his weapon suddenly ceased. A red light blinked warningly on the side.
Kaiden smashed the shielding device and the dome dropped. He fired at the approaching Tsuna, who was only a few feet in front of him now. The charged shot pounded home and continued through him. The opposition’s team leader disappeared and Kaiden dropped his rifle as the world went white.
Objective complete. Defender’s Win.
Switching Sides.
Chapter Nine
Juro Sasaki stood in the darkened room and watched the screen intently. Their team had made their landing in Portland and now proceeded to their ship, which would take them to San Diego to begin their mission. He wondered idly how they would fare. The Ramses corporation had its own security measures, but they shouldn’t present much of a problem on their own, not for this reputable team. However, there was the matter of the company’s contractors. While they weren’t exactly a powerhouse or unified force, they were plentiful. It might prove difficult to make an exit when it was blocked by a mountain of cadavers.
A door opened to his left and he looked over to see Jensen yawn and scratch his chin, a hot cup of coffee in one hand. “You’re still here?” he questioned and turned to face the councilman. “I was not aware you decided to remain.”
“Eh, the next get together is at the end of the week right?” he asked and sipped his coffee. “I thought I’d stick around and overlook some of the day to day stuff. I’ve been somewhat haphazard when it comes to learning the nitty-gritty details.” He took another sip and nodded at his cup. “Do you want some? I can make another pot in a couple of minutes.”
“I’m fine, thank you,” Juro said dismissively and returned his attention to the screen.
“So you already sent them out, huh?” Jensen asked. “I thought they were going to prepare until the next meeting.”
“I was told by Nolan that the team informed him they were ready to go. There are no security updates or changes in the guard schedule coming up anytime soon at Ramses that would increase their chances, so now was as good a time as any. I allowed them to depart early,” he explained.
“You might want to send a memo out. I imagine at least a few of the other members would like to watch it go down,” the other man pointed out.
“I will once they properly commence their attack. For now, I’m merely making sure nothing happens along the way.”
Jensen nodded, finished his beverage, and placed the cup on the table before he leaned back against it. “I may have only seen you a few times at these shindigs, but even I’ve noticed you’ve grown more apprehensive about these missions and the like for a few months now. Is something going on I don’t know about?”
A number of things, yes, but those would wait for now. “For years, our missions have been a minor part of our overall goal. We focused on preparations and putting the right pieces in the right places. It was a difficult time in its own way, but at worst, it only cost us time and a few assets. We always accomplished our goals, even if it wasn’t necessarily in our preferred time frame. Now, we are in the phase where we have to be more active and complications have arisen during these missions where our success is not guaranteed. We’ve failed a few times already.”
“You’re still hung up about the Gin thing, huh?” his companion inquired and clapped a hand on the Zaibatsu leader’s shoulder, who eyed it stiffly but didn’t shake it off. “It’s all good, mate. Honestly, it’s not like it was your fault. You remained a veritable Switzerland there, while I should probably take a beating for agreeing to it.”
“I know of at least a couple of other members who would be happy to deliver,” Juro said dryly. Although the councilman chuckled at this, he removed the hand. “In that particular case, I had hoped it could be salvaged. We merely wanted to test the Nexus defenses and potentially recover the EI. Still, we achieved one out of two, in fact—we have an unexpected boon as Dario was able to trace the man who created the cracked EI that allowed Gin to manipulate electronic systems with such ease.”
“Will you have him make a new one? What makes you think it’ll work?”
“He’ll make a new one and it will be better. Dario assured me he would personally oversee this hacker’s work and be sure it is done,” Juro assured him coldly. “As for the EI, if nothing else, we can recover it or eventually have it destroyed if it comes down to having to play our hand.”
Laurie woke and blinked wearily to focus on the familiar surroundings. He grimaced, a little stiff from sleeping on the couch in his office. He pushed himself up and frowned at Cyra who worked on his computer.
“Cyra?” he asked and yawned briefly.
“Good afternoon, Professor. It’s nice to see you finally got some sleep.” She sounded cheerful but didn’t look away from her work.
He shifted to lean back on the couch and stretch his arms. “I…vaguely remember Sasha taking me to bed. How did I end up here?”
“You woke up a few hours later—well, maybe not all the way. You were sleepwalking around the office a
nd talked about needing to replace hardware and update things. I couldn’t get you back to your bed but I was able to persuade you to lay on the couch,” she explained.
“Sleepwalking? I haven’t done that since I was a child,” he recalled with real surprise. “How long was I out?”
“In total about twelve hours. It’s nearly four in the afternoon.”
“Are the students here already?”
“The first years are doing normal basic stuff, downstairs is full of the initiates getting their EIs, the second years are in their workshops, and third and fourth years are at the AC.”
A small chill rippled through him at that, but he tried his best to ignore it. He stood and walked over to his desk to look over Cyra’s shoulder to see what she was working on. She seemed to be studying a list of technician students.
“Is something on your mind, Cyra?” he asked.
“I’m looking for potential apprentices. Actually, I sent in a form to the board to request the permission to teach a small group of students,” she revealed.
Laurie was definitely surprised. He circled to the front of the desk and sat on one of the guest chairs. “Really? When was this?”
“A few days ago,” she replied casually.
“I don’t remember you telling me.”
“I did, and you muttered, ‘uh-huh, all right’—although, to be fair, you were preoccupied and working off four hours of sleep in thirty hours. So, yes, maybe I should have snapped my fingers to make sure you actually paid attention.”
“What made you request this? Has it been granted?”
“I’m still waiting on the verification, but one of the councilors stated that if I sign on as a volunteer and make the class a non-credit elective, it’s almost a certainty that it will go through. As for the why…I guess it’s my way of coping with everything that happened at the end of last year—the compromising of the system, the chaos, losing Raynor. I would have been out of my depth without Chiyo’s help.”
Laurie tightened his lips at Raynor’s name. “Right, Raynor. In all my fuss to work on the Animus, I never took the time to think of him.”
“You paid for his funeral and sent your well wishes to his family,” Cyra reminded him.
“That’s the least I could do for his years of service. I guess what I’m saying is I never…mourned him, really.”
She stopped typing and lowered her head slightly. “I know most of your conversations with him seemed to be strictly business. He was a somewhat stoic man, but he admired you.”
Laurie was silent and shifted his hand to adjust a pushed-up sleeve before his fingers toyed fretfully with the hem of it. “I…he was a great man, as was Egon. A wonderful infiltrator and a brilliant technician respectively, but I suppose I feel a sense of guilt in not getting to know them as people. I have to say I don’t know many of those in my employ as people. I can list a few facts and maybe some personal quirks. But besides you and one or two of my colleagues, I can’t say I know many people all that well, despite my many years here.”
Cyra mulled this over. “Before you made the Nexus academy your main focus, was it the same at your corporation?”
“You mean my father’s corporation—even during the two years I was ‘in charge,’ it was still under his guiding hand.” Laurie sighed. “It’s part of the reason I chose to come here and to stay, but to answer your question, it might have been worse there. To be frank, the only reason I know more about you is because you seem inclined to share, even during the times when I only half-listened.”
“I am something of a social butterfly,” she agreed with a soft smile. “In addition to that, I never pegged you for an introvert, Professor.”
“I can’t say I have either, although some call me mysterious or a shut-in on occasion. I always said that part of it was for the flavor—the great scientist always hidden away working on the next great advancement. The downside of that, of course, is the hidden away part.”
“From the world?”
“Even merely those around you… I might be rambling.”
“The attack really shook you. It seems like I’m stating the obvious, but I’m not sure you actually admit that to yourself.”
The professor shrugged. “Of course it did. It rattled all of us. Our seemingly impenetrable barrier was breached, a psycho wandered our halls for who knows how long, killed three of our staff, and nearly destroyed both our system and one of our students in one strike. I suppose, along with the fear, it was the fact that I feel responsible. I designed both the barrier and the Animus and thought them impervious, certainly to any known weaponry or tech. To see them fall to a man with some fancy gadgets and a little technical know-how is…humbling.”
Cyra stood and walked over to Laurie, who looked at her with tired eyes. She leaned over and hugged him—another surprise. With one last tight squeeze, she released him and fixed him with a firm look. “You aren’t as aloof as you might think, and don’t begin to hate yourself because of this. Chiyo told me Kaiden is fine and that he himself said he wouldn’t let this set him back because that would mean Gin wins in the end. I’m not saying you will get over this in a snap, but don’t let it keep you down.” She chuckled as she slipped away. “One of the reasons I like working for you is your flashy personality. I hope to see it again soon.”
A small smile crossed Laurie’s face as she exited the room. He had a lot of work to do, but for now, he needed to take a little time to fix a few things for himself.
Chapter Ten
Kaiden was ported to the inside of a dropship with Chiyo and for a few seconds, they were alone. Before he could ask where the others were, multiple flashes of white appeared around them and materialized into their teammates.
“Back to it, then?” Flynn asked and stretched.
“Try not to get blown up this time around.” Marlo chuckled.
“Eh? That’s how you got taken out.”
“Yeah, but I sacrificed myself for the good of the team. You died due to special awareness,” the demolitionist pointed out. “It’s kind of ironic for a marksman, isn’t it?”
Before Flynn could retort, Amber stepped in. “It was a nice gesture, Marlo, and you eliminated Luke in the process. But you have to remember the only reason you couldn’t run away was because of a little prick from Julian.”
The demolitionist sighed and opened his loadout screen. “I really had hoped to gloss over that.”
“No such luck, buddy.” She chuckled.
“It was good to see the two of you end it,” Otto stated to Kaiden and Chiyo as he studied his own loadout. “You got it down to the wire in the end, didn’t you?”
Kaiden watched as the formally defeated teammates casually picked out their loadouts, scratching the back of his head. “Uh, hello?”
The rest of the team looked his way. “Yeah, what’s up, Kai?” Amber asked.
The ace glanced at Chiyo, who simply shrugged and opened her own loadout screen. “Uh, I guess I’m surprised it switched around so fast. Where were all of you? Chilling in the pods all this time?”
“We didn’t get kicked out when we fell,” Genos explained. “They sent us to a lobby room. We watched the rest of the match from there and conversed with our friends on the opposite team.”
“By the way, Chiyo, Izzy said she’s coming for you personally,” Otto informed her.
“I’ll be ready,” she promised.
Kaiden gripped a railing above him as the transport increased speed. “I guess we’re on our way for real now,” he muttered. “Hey, Chief, is the map setting the same for each team?”
“For the most part, yeah,” the EI confirmed. “Some of the floor layouts will probably change, and the destination of the objective will change for sure. Otherwise, the defenders who are now attackers will have an unfair advantage.”
“Considering that is a common thought, we might as well give them that too,” Indre grumbled.
“What was that now?” Kaiden asked.
She looked
at him and shrugged. “Oh, only a… Well, back at my old academy, we actually ran siege missions a lot in practice. It was one of the most popular mission types, but it was a common argument there that the defending team always had a significant advantage.”
“Why’s that?” he asked. “For the last couple of years, I usually ran retrieval, bounty, and survival missions.”
“Normandy Academy has a smaller student body, and their Animus systems are a few updates behind since the ones here have to be tested and cleared before they are sent out to the other Ark academies,” Amber explained. “That means a smaller mission pool. The result is that they run the same missions over and over.”
“Right, and of course, it definitely felt a little repetitive from time to time, especially in siege, since a winner isn’t declared until one team wins both defense and attack,” she explained. “Aside from that, it was as much a battle of endurance as skill, I suppose.”
“Well, I don’t feel like spending all day on a single mission, so let’s do our best to knock this out here and now.” Kaiden folded his arms and waited for his team to respond.
“I certainly agree,” Genos said finally when the others didn’t immediately respond. “However, considering how close the last match was and that they might have the advantage now, perhaps another plan would be advisable? We have nine and a half minutes until landing.”
Marlo and Amber both nodded.
“Things got a little screwy last time. Do you want another shot?” Flynn questioned the ace.
Kaiden tapped his finger on his arm and the rhythmic click of metal filled the momentary silence. “Give me a minute here. The only thing I can think of is that we shouldn’t go for a full-frontal assault.”
“Well, at least that shows you are thinking about it,” Amber pointed out. “Although I suppose it didn’t go too well for Jaxon’s team when they tried it.”
“It wasn’t a bad idea,” he responded. “Distract us with an attack while Raul and Izzy either went for the objective or eliminated our support.”
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