Sacrificial Pieces

by Cosimo Yap

  The simulations predicted that the Black Rose base would be destroyed if the Haxlards and Seeker teamed up and coordinated their efforts. There would be minimal losses for the guild if the two forces did duke it out, but there was no clear way to achieve this result.

  Alan ran a few simulations of retreat, and the results were disastrous. Seeker and the Haxlards had major advantages in maneuverability. The guild was currently in a heavily fortified location; to abandon it would be suicide.

  The next option was to try to confront both Seeker and the Haxlards. The Black Rose guild could emerge victorious in this scenario, but it was unlikely. Though, this was under the assumption that they had to face the Haxlards and Seeker at the same time. If instead the two forces were divided, then confronted separately by the full might of the Black Rose guild…

  A faint outline appeared in Alan’s head, moves falling into place.

  Alan withdrew his divided consciousness from Cyberspace, instead focusing it on reconfiguring the base’s design while there was still power. He ordered every Black Rose member to begin reconfiguring traps, and for all the Knights to gather near. Lambda outlined plans to key officers, including detailed information on the enemies they were expected to face.

  Sidestep opened a private channel with Alan.

  “Why are you abandoning the surface? The Haxlards can’t be allowed to set up a fortified beachhead,” Sidestep said.

  “They can and will. The Haxlards have air and space supremacy. Seeker has come to destroy us, so we need to deal with it first,” Alan said.

  “Seeker? What did we do?” Sidestep asked.

  “What’s with all the questions? You put me in charge of the base, trust that I’m handling it. You worry about Aurora,” Alan said.

  “Fine,” Sidestep said, ending the connection.

  A few officers questioned Alan’s orders, but followed through with the instructions they were given once Lambda spoke with them. What Lambda said, Alan didn’t care—he was busy monitoring Seeker’s progress.

  Alan gathered his equipment, double checking everything was in working order. His power armor was fully functioning, advanced stealth mode and hardened shields available. The light railgun was attached: light, heavy, and soulsteel projectiles locked and loaded. Alan’s eyes glowed, the mechanical orbs shifting from spectrum to spectrum with quiet intensity.

  It was game time. And Alan was ready to win.

  ***

  Seeker emerged out of the Abyss Labyrinth and was stopped by a metal hatch. A screen to the side flickered to life, and a silhouette of Alan appeared.

  “The Black Rose guild has done nothing to warrant this aggression,” Alan said.

  “Surrender yourself and there will be no cause for worry,” Seeker said.

  “Do you think you can face us alone?” Alan asked

  “I don’t need to defeat the entire guild,” Seeker said. “I only need to pluck you out of whatever hole you’re hiding in.”

  “This obsession feels personal,” Alan said. “Is it because of the bet you lost to Tyrant? Can’t handle losing to a human, can you?”

  “At least the fate of my race doesn’t depend on how well I perform in the Game,” Seeker said. “Your homeworld—Earth—is about to be claimed by the Empire.”

  Alan paused.

  Don’t let Seeker get to you—we’re supposed to be the ones setting the bait, Lambda sent.

  “What do you mean?” Alan asked.

  “The answers are right beside you, but an unwitting pawn will remain a pawn no matter how powerful it grows,” Seeker said. “Face me. If you survive a full minute, I’ll answer your questions before I claim your corpse.”

  “Sorry, but I’m not dependent upon in-born strength—I actually had to earn my power,” Alan said. He cut off the connection.

  Seeker tore the hatch off its hinges, tossing hundreds of pounds of metal aside. The base’s escape route into the Abyss Labyrinth had become a backdoor entrance.

  However, the Black Rose base had undergone major renovation and reconstruction. Alan had taken advantage of the base’s ability to reconfigure itself. Instead of a Rubik’s Cube the base now looked like an inverted pyramid. The bottom floor, once filled with rooms, was now open space.

  All of the missing room’s shields and metal walls had been taken apart and placed at the very top of the upside-down pyramid to hold off the Haxlards’ advance. Unfortunately, this also made the Black Rose guild base structurally unsound—it was barely kept up with the power of wall supports and magnetism. Alan planned to delay the Haxlards, who were attacking from above, while he fought Seeker, who was attacking from below.

  Two metal columns hung mid-air, a quiet electrical hum emerging from the power generators that lay inside. Due to how quickly the Black Rose guild base had been taken apart, many key systems were now open to the elements. Stray wires, door frames, and slabs of metal jutted out every which way. Quiet thumping sounded from the surface.

  A barrage of laser fire met Seeker as it stepped out. From where Seeker stood the outline of the entire Black Rose base could be seen, hanging up above in the air. The Predecessor shrugged off the blows, barely losing 0.1% of its health.

  Slower missiles and plasma blasts radiated out from murder-holes in the upside-down pyramid. Seeker circled around the empty floor as it dodged the explosions.

  Smoke and fire surrounded Seeker. There was no cover, only bedrock that had been dug out by the Black Rose guild when the base had been constructed.

  Seeker was turning to head back into the tunnel when a railgun was fired from halfway up the pyramid. The heavy projectile missed Seeker, but the ensuing explosion took away 0.4% of its health.

  The Predecessor smiled, and then leapt up, hurtling toward the player that had fired the railgun—Alan. A sonic boom echoed in the Predecessor’s wake.

  Watching the battle, Alan’s divided consciousness detonated the bottom four floors of the Black Rose base the moment Seeker left the ground. The bottom half of the upside-down pyramid was forcefully detached. No matter how fast the Predecessor was on the ground, it couldn't change direction mid-air.

  Alan used the railgun’s recoil to hurtle upwards—further into the Black Rose base—as he reloaded. Two Knights in bulky Behemoth Power Armor leapt out of the pyramid and blocked Seeker’s path.

  A punch tore through one of the Knight’s armor, revealing layers of explosive charges inside. Both Knights detonated in a spectacle of sound and light. Seeker lost 11% of its health while the surrounding portions of the pyramid’s walls disintegrated and the explosions stopped Seeker’s upward momentum. Almost a third of the Black Rose guild base crashed to the ground, debris concentrated in the middle of the cavern.

  A soulsteel needle hurtled through the air, but Seeker leaned its neck backwards, the needle slicing across its forehead and causing dark blue blood to begin to congeal on its brow. Seeker was now falling in the air—an open target—but Alan commanded everyone else to hold their fire.

  Four new Knights emerged from the corners of the room on the bottom floor—they wore Advanced Revenant Scout Power Armor and had been using the Black Rose guild’s image projectors to hide as well. Each carried a rocket launcher.

  Seeker was still up in the air when the Knights fired their rockets, pushing Seeker up toward the overhead floors of the Black Rose guild base. At the same time, Alan gave the signal to start attacking Seeker from above.

  With explosive forces coming from both above and below, Seeker was juggled in the air like a ragdoll for a few seconds. Its health dropped to 40% and Seeker let out a roar of frustration as it finally managed to swat away a passing rocket shell, pushing itself towards the walls of the room.

  However, as Seeker was knocked towards the wall a swarm of plasma bolts—controlled by Alan’s divided consciousness but fired by another Knight—exploded and forced Seeker into one of the hanging generators. The electrical hum in the air erupted in a massive explosion that lit up the Predecessor like a minia
ture supernova.

  In the midst of the light and force that blinded all others, Alan lined up a shot, as his cybernetic eye implant blocked out the majority of the light, allowing him to see in the intense blast. He pulled the trigger and the railgun accelerated the soulsteel needle with immense force generated by the electromagnetic rails. The projectile soared through the air and went straight through Seeker’s head, killing the Predecessor.

  Messages appeared before Alan:

  x285 Level up!

  +100 ability points for gaining over 100 levels with one action.

  Alan let out a relieved sigh. Yes, he had cheesed the fight by trapping Seeker in the air without letting him react, but Predecessors were simply too overpowered. Most of his other plans resulted in many more deaths.

  Looks like Seeker was working independently—our ranking in the Haxlard Crusade event hasn’t risen, Lambda sent. The good news is, there shouldn’t be more vengeful Predecessors coming our way. Bad news is, this didn't count as a kill against the Haxlards.

  A majority of the Black Rose members caught on the lower floors survived the fall, but a few squads who had been on the bottom tip of the pyramid had been crushed to death. Above, the Black Rose control room now lay exposed.

  “Was all this necessary? Why didn’t we evacuate the lower levels?” a Knight asked Alan.

  “Seeker would have detected the trap a mile away if I had done that. This was one of many ways the attack could have played out. There was only a chance it would take the bait and leap up,” Alan said. “We were lucky.”

  It could have also turned out better, Lambda sent. We lost two Knights; you should check if it was worth the trouble.

  Alan was brought down to the fallen Predecessor and looted the body. He received an organic Predecessor sample, which was an amorphous glob of dark flesh that was a key component to many rank S implants. The problem was, Alan didn’t know anyone with the capabilities of creating such biological implants, or what the other ingredients for such an implant might be. At least the item had a market value of hundreds of millions of credits.

  Thumping continued to sound above, reminding Alan that there was still the Haxlard threat to deal with. With a quiet sigh, Alan looked around at the destruction surrounding him, trying to figure out how to best set up the base to deal with the oncoming threat.

  Chapter 19

  I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. You need to start paying more attention, Lambda sent.

  What? Alan asked. He was busy reorganizing squads and ordering a group of medics to set up an infirmary on the ground of the cavern.

  The Knights have names, and the squads have histories. People have relationships. These aren’t robotic units to be commanded about, Lambda sent. I’ve been smoothing over the rough edges, but a leader is more than a taskmaster.

  Half these soldiers will be dead by the time the first Haxlard wave is finished, the rest soon after. I’m busy evaluating the defenses. My time is best spent figuring out how to save lives, Alan sent.

  What about after this war? You’ve talked to four, maybe five people on a regular basis, and only when a mission required you to group together, Lambda sent.

  I can acquire any personal information that I require from the database, Alan sent. He walked over to a temporary lift to head back into the base.

  It’s not about combat efficiency or info. Society depends on strong relationships, and those don’t spring out of thin air, Lambda sent.

  It isn’t worth the effort, Alan sent. People move on, they disappear. I’ll talk to people I think will be around longer, that really matter, like Aurora and Sidestep, but the rest I can’t be bothered with unless they do something noteworthy.

  People talk, ponds have ripples. Conversations can be meaningful in the moment, bring momentary joy, or have lasting consequences. Being antisocial is detrimental to future opportunities. Not everyone is doing constant calculus to determine loyalties and future utility, Lambda sent.

  Maybe they should be. Maybe we would have progressed further if people cared more about practical things, Alan sent.

  I get it. You enjoy the Game, and you want to win, Lambda sent. But there’s more to life than games. Perhaps we’re only momentary flashes in time, and all that matters are those we’ve touched along the way.

  Nah, fuck that, Alan sent. I have time. And I’m here to win.

  Parameters confirmed, Doppel sent. Fuck interpersonal relationships. Win the Game.

  Alan laughed. See? Doppel gets it.

  If that’s really what you want, then I’ll handle raid communications, for now, Lambda sent.

  Thanks, Lambda. It’s not like I’m boxing the entire world out, just the grunts. There are bigger fish to fry.

  There’s always a bigger fish. Just hope that it doesn’t devour you, Lambda sent. I’ll come to your aid when you need me, but more friends never hurt.

  It can when they leave a void you never fill, Alan sent. Now enough chit-chat. Double check my squad assignments, then monitor comms and fix any problems that could arise.

  Yes, master, Lambda sent.

  Alan shrugged. Lambda would get over it. Maybe he was pissed now, and maybe they’d continue their conversation when the ceiling wasn’t about to cave in with a flood of aliens hell-bent on destruction. But there were more important things to do than talk about feelings.

  Alan made his way to Phantom’s lair. It was on the fourth floor, directly above the vault.

  Why are we going here again? Lambda asked.

  Just to be safe I want to get a scan of Doppel, Alan sent. Doppel and Lambda cut off once he entered.

  The metal helmet that Phantom had first used to determine Eve’s status lay next to a silver capsule on a desk. Eve’s corruption level had been measured to be 17% when Alan had first used the helmet, but Eve hadn’t been planning on betraying Alan at that point in time. He wondered what the device might have told him if he’d used it more recently.

  The Advanced Foundry lay where Alan remembered it, also along the opposite wall. Alan had brought a backpack of gear from the fallen soldiers that could be melted down and transformed into better weaponry for a few of the recruits. He didn’t have the capabilities to modify higher-ranked items, and there were professionals that were also doing this job, but every little bit would help.

  What Alan didn’t remember was a gaping hole in the middle of the room, revealing a bright metal surface beneath the floor. The blast appeared to have originated from the ceiling, coming from the Helios’s laser.

  Why didn’t any of the squads report anything, where are the cameras? Alan thought. He gazed up, wishing he could use his bionic implant to scan above. Solid rock and metal surrounded the hole, but toward the surface he thought he saw a bit of light. It looked like the hole had been covered with the collapse of the main keep, but without further inspection it was fuzzy.

  It was a miracle that the Haxlards hadn’t discovered this entrance into the depths of the Black Rose base. Whatever blocked Alan’s mechanical implants in this space seemed to block sensor scans, too. The Haxlards were busy trying to drill their way through the thick base of the inverted pyramid when there was already a hole here.

  Did Alan want to order a squad here, or was this a secret he needed to keep to himself?

  Alan paced the room. Charcoal-black streaks lined the ground, but the blast had been neutralized by something. The vast majority of energy seemed to have been used up on the surface, but enough had been left to go through four floors. Active shielding could be detected surrounding the metal beneath the floor.

  The central vault was a few feet away. A powerful railgun blast might open it right up. Had the Helios purposefully been aiming for the vault? If so, why?

  Alan entered the capsule and put all his available points into endurance and agility. The gains may have been small, but every little bit would help as he tried to survive.

  After placing the helmet on and activating the scanner, Alan sat down in thought. Ever
ything was harder, his mind muddled without the Machine Lord implant. A minute later a window popped up, displaying Doppel’s status window:

  AI Status Window

  Name:

  Doppel

  Classification:

  Undetermined

  Computing Ability:

  Rank B

  Synchronization Level:

  N/A

  Main Objective:

  Help Alan win.

  Current Role:

  Computations

  Operating System

  Classified

  Corruption Level:

  2%

  Storage Level:

  24%

  Aberration Levels

  Baseline:

  4%

  Sanity Check:

  Pass

  Administrator Warning Status:

  Clear

  It looked completely normal.

  Lambda’s status window remained a mess of unhelpful junk. Lambda’s main objective was now “Get Alan a best friend or girlfriend,” his corruption level was still a question mark, and his storage level seemed low at 22%.

  Alan then used the Advanced Foundry to produce what essentially amounted to futuristic, fast drying concrete. After covering the hole in the ceiling with the mixture, Alan exited the room, making sure its defenses were active. He wasn’t about to break into the central vault without his implants or AI. He’d re-evaluate the choice when he had a clearer head and additional insight.

  You still don’t trust me? Lambda sent as soon as he returned. The radius of the security device stopped at the entrance of Phantom’s lair.

  Just wanted to double check everything was fine with the new AI. Doppel, you passed all the tests. Good job, Alan sent.

  A self-diagnostic would have provided the same results more efficiently, Doppel replied.