by Aer-ki Jyr
Then the thought of the Black Knight showing up tomorrow and beating the sentimentality out of him popped into mind, spoiling the moment.
Paul laid down on his bed, about to go to sleep for the night, as his mind began running through various permutations of known tactics and scenarios. After half an hour of fruitless thought, he forced himself to abandon the exercise and get some sleep, focusing his mind on the resolute fact that while he might not figure out the solution tonight, eventually one of them would, then they’d take that bastard down…hard.
9
Paul met up with the other 2s in the equipment/shower room the next day, dressing in the dull white body suits that had become standard training gear for most of the challenges. The material was both flexible and durable, allowing for a bit of protection against bumps, scrapes, and rolls while maintaining full agility. The coloration made for a disadvantage on most of the courses, but so far camouflage hadn’t been a topic of discussion, but Paul figured that would probably change in coming days.
With equally white, and equally flexible boots that attached to the pant legs rather than overlapping, the 2s finished their basic prep and walked through Atlantis to the nearest lift terminal, where they boarded three ‘elevators’ that carried them laterally through the city over to the park-like training zones. They met up in a mission specific equipment room, one of many in the training areas of the city, and appropriated their safety glasses and weapons…along with their ward.
She was a 5’ 5’’ extremely cute, extremely blonde computer technician…but the first thing that went through Paul’s head was how thin and out of shape she was. Jason was helping her get used to carrying a shield and instructing her how to cover up behind it, but Paul was already running variable doomsday scenarios through his head. He didn’t like them having to babysit a non combatant, especially when her obvious lack of skill could cause them to fail the challenge.
“So,” Megan whispered to him as she picked out one of the stun sticks from the selection on the wall, along with its holster/belt, “what do you think of your new girlfriend?”
Paul tossed her an annoyed glare. “I’m wondering why they sent someone so frail.”
“She’s not supposed to fight.”
“But can she run? We need to stay mobile, otherwise we’ll be sitting ducks when we cross open ground.”
“All part of the fun,” Megan kidded, picking up a bulky pre-loaded paintball rifle and hitting the power button, which then began charging up the ammo with stun energy.
Paul walked over beside Jason and their ‘package’ and grabbed a shield of his own. Normally they didn’t carry them in the parks, but given that they had to protect Neira they needed something other than their own bodies to block incoming fire with, even if firing the rifles one handed was a bit of a chore.
Dan and Brian chose slightly different loadouts, appropriating small paintball pistols in place of the stun sticks, which also came with a hip holster, along with the newly issued sniper rifles that the trainers had long tormented them with, added to the trainee inventory only two weeks ago. Given the size of the weapons they required a two-handed grip, meaning they couldn’t use shields, but they could keep the enemy distracted and confused, which would prove even more valuable than simply blocking paint.
The 2s had learned months ago that a good defense was multifaceted, and since their mobility was going to be limited, they had to make up for that deficit in other ways.
Jason had been assigned as Handler, meaning he was going to be on Neira’s hip the entire way, so he appropriated a pistol for his left side, a stun stick for the right, and picked up two of the flat, vertical shields. He was going to let the combat fall to his teammates unless it came to hand to hand, and needed the extra blocking capability to create a ‘turtle shell’ barrier that he was now practicing with the tech, having her drop to her knees with her shield in front and ducking her head down behind it as he came up from behind and essentially wrapped her inside his arms, with both shields closing her off from harm while using his body to cover her back.
“Looks cozy,” Megan teased as she walked up beside Paul, hoisting her shield up onto her back via retractable straps. She and Paul were going to be the skirmishers today and couldn’t bother carrying the shield in a conventional manner, needing to keep their arms free and mobile. “I’m surprised you didn’t volunteer.”
“Was I really that bad?” he asked, half serious.
“Only with the blondes,” she said, taking a half step closer and sarcastically kissing him on the cheek. “That was just plain insulting.”
Paul looked over at her eyes, darkened behind the safety glasses but still full of mischief. Her dark brown hair was pulled back tight against her head and wound up in a small braided knot at the back. “I’ll remember to mention that to Sara sometime.”
Jason finished his practice lessons with their partner for the challenge and turned around to find the others geared up and waiting for them. “Let’s do this,” he said confidently.
“Are you ready for this?” Paul asked Neira.
She nodded perkily. “Just get me to the consoles and I’ll do the rest.”
Paul nodded once, then he and Megan walked to the head of the group and led them out one of six entrances to the equipment room…five of which led to nearby courses. The 2s walked down a long octagonal corridor that ringed the ‘terrace’ park until they came to their designated entry point, with a trainer waiting at the door.
“Stand by,” he said into a small wristbound comlink, communicating with both the control room and the trainers in the field. He waited until they all gathered around the entrance doors, which were sealed, then addressed the group of trainees.
“Challenge D-3A…your orders are to escort the tech to the finish area on the far end of the course, whereupon she will hack into the finish podium to end the mission. The podium will not function as normal until she activates it, thus her survival is required for completion. As usual there are time, kill, and survival bonuses. Any questions?”
There were none, so the trainer stepped aside revealing the start podium. Paul walked up to it and pressed down the large button, starting the clock above the thick doors that split and parted laterally, revealing an urban/garden landscape beyond. Megan ran with him up to the end of the small entrance tunnel, then disappeared around the corners, finding the closest available cover to begin probing out from.
Ivan and Jack came next, hanging back in the tunnel until the skirmishers had moved up a safe distance, then moved out and took up guard positions. Randy, Kip, and Emily came out next and began fanning out, creating a perimeter on the low terrace that led to several higher levels, which formed a small ‘hill’ over which the rest of the course lay.
When Megan tried to climb the short staircase up to the second terrace she drew the first fire from a hidden sniper, with the blue stinger missing cleanly. As a skirmisher she knew to always keep moving, and had been zigzagging up the steps, off which she rebounded back down to the lower level and found cover against the terrace’s concrete retaining wall.
Emily spotted the sniper as he fired at Megan and quickly communicated the approximate location via hand signals to the others. The trainer was hiding behind a line of soil-filled pots each the size of a hot tub up on the third terrace, giving him a view of the stairs while shielding him from most everything else.
Paul, on the other side of the elliptical course, moved further to the left on the first terrace, following the curve of the wall that gradually expanded the width of the park out from the narrow end where they had entered. He approached a symmetrical set of stairs and darted forward, then jutted left just before he got up the second step and slipped back in behind the retaining wall.
No shots were fired. Either no one was covering this side or he hadn’t provided them a good enough target. Paul set himself then darted across the stairway opening and slipped over to the other side, hunkering down next to a potted coconut tree that r
ose up far above his head.
Still no fire.
Paul glanced back and caught Randy’s attention, signaling for him to provide cover. He nodded and took aim with his rifle up on the second terrace as Paul jumped out of cover and sprinted up the stairs.
A blue ball splattered at his feet when he hit the top step, followed by three quick shots from Randy that caused the trainer to duck back into cover behind a hedgerow trimmed to geometric perfection. Paul ducked behind a small, dry fountain directly in the path of the stairs and lay flat on the ground, hoping there wasn’t anyone on the second terrace nearby, else he’d be a painfully easy target to hit.
He looked around the best he could manage, the fountain rim was only 2 foot tall, but at least he had his shield slung over his back to offer some protection. Off to the right, the direction he was facing, there was a small courtyard with solid benches situated in a square. As quick as he could manage, he jumped to his feet and ran to the downside bench and took up position behind it in a low crouch.
A few seconds later Megan dropped to a knee beside him, having come up the stairway on the opposite side. “Two down, right side. I think we can go up that way if you give me a boost.”
Paul looked over her shoulder, trying to pick the best spot. “Alright. Other side of that hedge,” he said, signaling back to his teammates within vision range. Some of them were out of sight below the edge of the terrace.
Dan signaled back for them to proceed, aiming that direction with his sniper rifle. Brian wasn’t in sight, and must have redeployed to another position.
Paul tapped Megan on the shoulder, signaling his readiness. She set herself for a moment then sprinted off towards the low, green hedgerow, keeping as close to two meter high terrace wall as she could. A mass of potted trees blocked her best route, meaning she was still visible to some of the third terrace positions.
Dan’s long-barreled rifle puffed twice, taking down a trainer on the third level as Randy moved up the stairs and onto the second. Whenever one of the 2s moved, the others used the distraction to redeploy, leapfrogging their way forward, which prompted Paul to run after Megan a couple seconds later. If they were going to shoot at her, then he’d have a small window of opportunity.
There was a short rectangular potting box with red and white flowers in his path, but he hurdled it without too much trouble and joined Megan in between two more coconut trees, tucked up against the retaining wall where they were momentarily out of sight. Down below Emily caught their attention, bringing her flat palm up in front of her face and popping her thumb up straight…the signal for an automated turret.
She relayed the approximate location from Brian with more hand signals, who was currently high up in one of the trees with a better vision angle than the rest of them. The turret was hidden behind a tree on the third level and had a clear lateral field of fire across the center placed, double-wide staircase leading up to the fourth and top terrace.
“Give me a peek,” Paul suggested. Megan knelt down on her knees next to the base of the wall and placed her hands flat on the ground, tensing her arms and back, making an impromptu bench that Paul stepped up on. Megan wobbled a bit, but otherwise held firm as Paul’s head popped up above the edge and looked around.
There wasn’t much to see. Two large pots blocked most of his vision, but no trainers were visible…nor the turret, and there was just enough ledge to shimmy up on this side of the pots for cover.
Paul stepped down and huddled next to Megan to whisper in her ear. “Narrow gap between the pots and the edge.”
Megan left her rifle on the ground and stood up as Paul cupped his hands together. She put her foot in his fingers and readied herself. Both of them went through three bobbing swings of arms and leg to get their timing right, then Megan jumped up and slithered over the edge with the help of the boost. Paul reached down and picked up her weapon, then fed it into the tiny hand that appeared above him. It reappeared a moment later and he deposited his weapon in it, which also disappeared from view.
Up top, Megan turned over onto her back, laying on her shield, and dipped her right leg over the edge, tucking it up against the concrete and bracing herself with her arm. She also grabbed the rim of the pot, hoping a few fingers wouldn’t be enough to attract attention as she flexed her toes upward. A moment later she felt Paul’s weight try to drag her over the edge as he used her foot and knee as leverage points to climb up on, but he was quick enough about it and slid up behind the other pot down past her feet.
She slid his weapon over to him and rolled over onto her belly, then carefully inched up into a hunch, looking around as best she could when she heard a grunt from nearby, then the distinctive clatter of weapon falling on rock tile. The others must have downed another trainer.
Paul risked a one second peek up and over the edge, just enough to get his bearings while hopefully not long enough to allow anyone to sight in on him…though if they were looking, they now knew exactly where he was.
“Turret is far left. Not much cover in between. Head up that way and I’ll draw fire,” he said, pointing down the length of the wall.
Megan crawled off to the left while Paul scurried right, crossing behind the edge of the courtyard that was ringed with shrubbery, the small gaps between which posed some problems, drawing the fire of a sniper up on the fourth terrace, but the 2s’ own snipers downed him as soon as he popped up out of cover, leaving Paul to deal with the distant turret.
He pulled the shield off his back and parked it up behind one of the cube-like shrubs, knowing that the stingers could potentially penetrate the greenery, whole or in splatter, either of which would cause trouble for him. With the shield in position to catch most of the paint, he popped up into partial view and fired three shots at the sphere atop the turret.
Only one of his shots hit, but as predictable the barrels swiveled left and fired on him, though its aim was no better than his. Then again, with four barrels firing rapidly, it didn’t have to be.
Paul hunkered down behind his shield, hoping not to catch any flack on his extremities that the narrow shield didn’t cover and waited out the firestorm. After several long seconds and more than 40 stingers pelting the now blue shrubbery, the leaflets stopped moving as the turret retargeted on Megan for a few shots, then fell silent.
“Clear!” Megan yelled out for him, knowing that he was out of hand signal line of sight. She did motion to the others, however, and got them moving forward. Dan repositioned first and took out the trainers on the 4th level, the top of the artificial hill, clearing the threat from this end of the course.
Jason watched from the entry tunnel as his teammates moved up the stairwell and onto the top terrace, then moved laterally to secure firing positions. He turned and looked back at the now closed doors at the far end of the tunnel where the technician was waiting behind her shield.
“It’s clear. Let’s go.”
10
Neira knelt down next to the door control panel and pried it off with a tiny chisel-like devise from her belt-mounted toolkit as Jason stood behind her with his twin shields, nearly obscuring her from view. They were nearly 2/3rds of the way through the park course with the widely spaced park sidewalls beginning to narrow down again, confining and reconnecting the multiple paths available through the center region.
The door they stood before now was at the base of a 5 meter high wall and composed of thick metallic segments…too thick to kick down or break through in any other manner. Neira was their only way through, as she had been for two other impasses. After she got the panel and numerical pad off the concrete wall, she pulled out a clump of wires and attached a small interface line that led to a palm-sized data device, whereupon she began to hack into the computer controlled door lock.
The high wall ran the entire width of the park, with 7 different access points, two of which actually went up and over the wall via catwalks that would have left them vulnerable to attack, essentially suspended up in the air for all to see. Paul
and the others had concluded that as long as they had a hacker in the squad, they might as well make use of her and take the road less traveled, so to speak.
This door entrance was on the far right side, tucked inside a small sunken courtyard surrounded by potted trees and shrubs. Jason stood protecting Neira while Megan and Paul stood ready at the door to deal with anyone on the other side while the rest of the 2s were fanned out creating a protective perimeter, covering both the danger zone to their left and the ‘pacified’ areas behind.
Up on the highest perch he could find, Brian scanned the path behind with his sniper scope, leaving the closer surveillance to his teammates. On occasion the trainers would try to flank them, especially in a park this large, by circling around from behind, so they could never assume any area was totally safe. Brian had adopted a ‘check everywhere’ rhythm to his scans and was startled when he spotted someone far behind them, coming up and over the first ‘hillside’ they’d crossed over half an hour ago.
He looked away from his scope and signaled back towards Emily, holding up his hand and extending his middle finger…their signal for the Black Knight. He followed up with his hand touching his chest then jutting out to full arms reach pointing two fingers away, meaning ‘far off.’
Emily relayed the signal through the others, reaching Jason just as Neira was finishing up her hack.
“Figures,” he muttered. Everything had been going well up until now. He turned his head to the side so his low voice would carry better, but he kept his eyes focused on the area behind them, knowing how fast their nemesis was. “Can you lock this door after we come through?”
“If there’s a panel on the other side, yes, but it will take a while.”
“What about from this side?”
