Darkness had fallen over Silvano. Talbot reached the hill crest just as the Irians were scrambling up the shoulder. He jettisoned his rifle as it was useless at close range. Strangely disengaged from the reality of the brutal situation, Talbot raised his assault rifle and strafed the approaching Irian pack. The foremost dragoon fell, but the rest ducked and readied their harpoons. Talbot got a glimpse of Ashby, smug and self-satisfied, ambling behind his dragoons without a care in the world. He wasn’t even holding a weapon that Talbot could see.
The alien leader’s nonchalance angered Talbot, gave him fuel. He tumbled behind a palisade as three bolts struck the hard surface and almost broke through. Taking the opportunity to counter-attack, he stepped into the open and pumped plasma into the attacking dragoons from point blank range. The move gave him two more kills but exposed him to attack from the surviving dragoon. His ammo depleted, Talbot howled with rage and hurled his weapon at the alien, who swatted it away with a grin. The Irian raised an arm in some kind of signal, receiving a return wave from his leader, who was strolling behind the palisades to turn the beacon.
“Kill him,” Ashby muttered. “End this now.”
Talbot rushed at the dragoon but there was too much distance to cover. The alien sent a bolt through Talbot’s chest, sending him flying backwards against the sharp edge of a palisade. The little incendiary charge ripped a cavity in his chest but the thick fur he’d been wearing absorbed some of the damage. Knowing he just had seconds to live, Talbot dragged himself to his feet and found cover, the laughter of his tormentors ringing in his ears.
He noticed a glowing icon out of the corner of his eye - he could level up. Without thinking about it, he accessed his character screen. Having just reached level 10 with his recent kills, he now had access to both human and Irian skill trees. Talbot wasted no time in selecting the melee skill from the Irian base set. In these last few seconds he just might be able to land more than a scratch on his enemies.
Exiting the screen, Talbot stumbled through the palisades before Ashby could get to the beacon. The dragoon intercepted him, knocking him down with the butt of his harpoon.
“No!” Talbot grunted, shocking even himself with the feral brutality of his voice. Taking the dragoon by the scruff of the neck, he pulled the bloody bolt from his chest and stabbed the alien in the face. The sharp tip sank through bone and beyond, bringing a lifeless glaze to the alien’s bright orange eyes. Talbot let the body drop, staggering to the path between Ashby and the beacon.
The Irian leader regarded Talbot with the thinnest of smiles.
“And what, human, do you intend to do now?”
Talbot tried to speak, but only bloody bubbles came out. His breath was diabolically weak - death was but seconds away.
“You cannot win,” Ashby said, eyes glittering with spite. “You, John D Talbot, have never been able to win.”
Talbot grunted and pressed his body against the Irian leader. It was a tired move, a clumsy, awkward attack. Ashby smashed Talbot’s jaw with the heel of his webbed hand. Talbot almost lost consciousness on his way to the ground.
The mental image of Laura Fielding’s decapitation on the mountain fueled Talbot’s last effort. He staggered to his feet, moved in close to Ashby, dragged him down the hill. As the pair tumbled head over heels, Talbot got a whiff of the alien’s sweat as they slid over the rocks and dirt.
As they slowed to a halt, Talbot felt like he’d shattered into a million pieces. His health was the merest sliver and Ashby was about to send him back to his Immersion tank for good. Even now the Irian was toying with him.
The alien was going to win. The better soldier was going to win. Perhaps that was natural justice. Perhaps that was the way the galaxy needed to be.
No.
Humans deserved better. And Ashby didn’t seem to realize that Talbot had level 1 melee skills. With his last breath Talbot drew his combat knife and plunged it into Ashby’s hip, willing it deeper into the alien’s pelvis. It wasn’t a killing blow, not even close. Especially since Ashby had full health. But it was the best Talbot could do. He closed his eyes as his virtual body failed him. The last thing he heard as he blacked out was Ashby’s bemused laughter as the alien stood over his corpse.
Talbot took his time in climbing from the tank. His body was still reeling from the extreme violence it had been subjected too. The Irian technician, taut and rigid with tension, handed him a towel. Ignoring it, Talbot threw on his jumpsuit and climbed down the ladder to the hangar floor. Though his body was undoubtedly intact, it was still acting on muscle memory - his ribs ached, his hip throbbed and he felt as thought he might collapse at any moment.
A large group of soldiers in navy blue jumpsuits were huddled around a light projection. Talbot’s fallen comrades. He didn’t know what to think. All he knew was that he’d failed. And yet he was overcome with affection and joy when he saw the faces of those he’d lost in such emotional circumstances. He’d never felt that before - it was like being given a second chance. He supposed he wasn’t emotionally equipped to deal with the emotional oscillation of Immersion gaming.
Wilkes must have noticed Talbot standing there looking queasy, because the Terran leader found himself being dragged into the center of the circle.
“Major? Are you OK?”
“Sir! We’re down to the last twenty seconds!”
“You were fucking awesome!”
“I’ve never seen anything like it …”
Talbot remembered that he’d died, and that the game still had a minute or so to run. Which meant that Ashby had all the time in the world to claim the hilltop beacon and emerge victorious from Silvano. There could only be one conclusion - Alpha Centauri was lost, despite Talbot’s best efforts. He just hadn’t been good enough.
The thought made him swoon, but Wilkes and Laura were on hand to support him.
“I’ve never been so proud of you,” Laura whispered in his ear. “You’re a lion, John. A fucking lion.”
Talbot shook his head. All this was in vain. These soldiers were watching a foregone conclusion. Right there in front of them was a crystal clear image of Ashby climbing the hill. Except something was wrong. The alien leader wasn’t making any progress.
Held aloft by Wilkes and Fielding, Talbot forced himself to focus. Ashby appeared to have been maimed by Talbot’s vicious dagger strike. The Irian couldn’t seem to pivot his leg in order to walk. Several times he stumbled on the hill, unable to put any weight on the leg. In the end he dropped to the dirt and began crawling, though he was clearly in immense pain.
“Ten, nine, eight …” the soldiers began chanting, watching the countdown on the bottom of the screen. Talbot’s mind seemed to withdraw into itself, the raucous, tense sounds of the hangar receding to a distant roar.
As Ashby heroically dragged his broken body over the crest of the hill, Talbot almost willed him into the beacon. He was the only other person alive who truly knew the responsibility of claiming those things.
Ashby fell short by a few yards. The soldiers all around Talbot must’ve erupted, because they went one way, he went the other. The next thing he knew his head was on Fielding’s lap. Her tears spilled into his face, but they were joyous, divine tears. The sight drew Talbot to his feet, where he took Laura by the hand.
Already the virtual Terran army was being ushered from the Irian hangar by stern-looking marines in full battle gear. Gripping Laura’s hand tightly, Talbot led her past Admiral Gann and his cronies. The Admiral looked shocked beyond words. Talbot had literally taken his breath away.
“How about that, General?” Talbot muttered, although the effort of speaking nearly made him keel over.
The swarming navy blue soldiers had begun a chant that reverberated across the cavernous space. They were calling Talbot’s name, finding in him a physical gateway to a future no one had believed possible.
“I can’t believe it,” Laura said, sobbing into Talbot’s shoulder. “I just can’t believe it.”
“Never … leave me,” Talbot gasped, looking into her impossibly beautiful green eyes. “Swear it.”
Breaking down, Laura simply wrapped her arms around Talbot, her breath hot in his ear. It was enough. Talbot looked up at the distant floodlights as he was swept along on a sea of humanity toward the standing fleet of Terran shuttles. He chiseled the rhythmic, tribal chant into the deepest corner of his mind, because he knew in his heart he would never call himself a soldier again.
Epilogue
Laura held the ariel cucillae to the light, marveling at the magenta ribbing on its stem.
“Another pure specimen,” she said. “This one might see us through the Equinox quota.”
From his position in the kitchen, Talbot couldn’t help but smile - Laura’s enthusiasm was infectious. She seemed to have gotten over the disappointment of losing the ballot for Silvano. Living and working with him on their bio start-up had proved to be just the tonic. The deep, thick jungles of Avari’s Southern Belt may not have been appealing with a murderous army of Irians on their tail, but with the freedom to collect unknown plant specimens at leisure, it was shaping up as their own corner of paradise.
Best of all, the Terran Republic had footed the bill for their three-storey eco-bubble, which provided 360 degree views of the forest canopy. Talbot strolled out to the wrap-around balcony with his spiced coffee. He loved this time of day, when the day forest made way for the night version. Around this time he invariably gave thanks for how lucky he truly was. His twilight vigil was usually accompanied by the boom of a propulsion bulb as an Avari colony ship roared into orbit for another load of colonists.
Of course, Talbot’s eco-bubble was located as far as possible from Port Green, but the distant trickle of colonization comforted him.
“John?” Laura called. “I have Admiral Gann on the com.”
“Yeah? Tell him to fuck off. You left the Corps over a year ago.”
Talbot didn’t like the pause that followed.
“He didn’t call for me, asshole,” Laura said mischievously from the doorway. “He called for you.”
Get your FREE copy of my AEGIS COLONY trilogy when you sign up to my mailing list!
Visit my website for quick and easy links to my catalog!
Virtual War: Alpha Centauri (A LitRPG Novel) Page 18
