by Noah Barnett
"Let us make this as simple as possible. Everyone to the right will board Dropship Alpha. The rest of you will head to Beta. Squads should stay together." She said gesturing with her hands.
Charlie along with his squad got into a loose line heading for the left side of the rocket. It was still discharging gasses occasionally as the technicians ran tests. A few players were talking amongst themselves as they climbed the long metal ladder.
"Is it too late to tell them I'm mildly claustrophobic?" A black-haired female said.
"You're gonna miss this because of an upset tummy? I'd log off and wrap a barf bag over my mouth." A second man said.
He agreed. Charlie was excited they were getting Power Armor and going into space. The girl was already starting to look a little green, and the people around her laughed.
Players used welded hand rungs to climb into the dropships ramp. It had been attached to the Titan X missile via the roof. Everything was turned on its side, and the ceiling was the wall. When it was his turn, Charlie grabbed a rung and started to climb. Inside the bay, drop pods lined the lower deck. A very young boy in gray coveralls pointed to an unoccupied pod, and the player in front of him started shaking.
"I don't think I can do this," she said holding a hand over her mouth like she was about to barf.
"Don't worry," the kid said quickly. "You'll be transported to the power armor course, as soon as your inside."
Reluctantly the girl climbed into the tiny cylinder and it snapped closed. Charlie wedged himself into the next pod, and the door slid shut. Almost immediately he was standing on Martian soil. In the distance the Valles Marineris was visible, and it made the Grand Canyon look like a scratch on the earth's surface. Before Charlie was a dark-skinned Filipino woman who stood on Mars in plain coveralls. She had fierce eyes and a serious expression. Next to her was a massive suit of armor. The woman glanced down at a small tablet in her hands.
"NA1339872, also known as Charlie?" The woman asked.
"Yes?"
"It will be my job to instruct you on the proper use of the Mark One Power Armor. Failure to heed my instructions will result in your quick demise." She said moving closer. "This will be your armor during the event, please place your palm on the screen to accept it."
Charlie put his hand on the screen. There was a loud beep, and the girl tucked the tablet into her coveralls.
"Damn, it’s huge," he said looking up at the towering gray suit.
Charlie was of average height at five foot seven, and the armor towered over him at eight feet tall. The helmet was half molded into the broad torso, so the suit didn't have a neck. Along with large shoulder pads were a pair of rounded arms. Each leg was wrapped in a band of steel, and the feet looked like ice climber shoes.
"You should have seen the prototypes. They were essentially walking metal coffins with arms and legs. One of the test pilots said he could see the ghosts of his ancestors. We told him it was just his reflection on the visor, but he went a little crazy. Thankfully they pulled him out before he did any real damage." She said turning toward him with a hard look of suspicion.
"You afraid of tight spaces?"
"Not really, but I've never been inside a metal coffin before."
"Come around the back here," she said walking around the side. "Hopefully you'll not have to climb in or out of the suit, but there's a trick to it." A rectangular powerpack dominated the back, not unlike the alien armor. The girl reached under this and flicked a hidden switch. The pack slid up over the head as the waist and legs cracked open down the middle.
"Get naked, trust me, you'll cook yourself alive if you’re wearing clothes."
Charlie didn't hesitate in removing his coat, and armor. The woman half turned away as he pulled his shoes and pants off. Wearing only his black boxers, he approached the suit. The legs were split open along with the torso, and he stepped barefoot onto a raised padded platform. Then snaked his arms into the suit's sleeves. At the end, he found a set of brass knuckles, and each of his fingers slipped into one of the rings. Finally, he pushed himself forward into the body. As his head entered the helmet, the suit closed shut behind him. Around his body gel pads filled up ensuring there was as little wasted air space as possible.
The clear visor had an excellent field of view considering the amount of armor surrounding him. Pale green text began scrolling down the length of one side as the system booted up. Then a HUD blossomed across the glass. At the top of his view was a compass and an air meter. As soon as Charlie drew in his first breath, it dropped to 99%. He raised both his hands and the metal arms came into view. Testing the knuckle controls caused the fingers to flex, and the armored gauntlet closed its fist with a whine of servos. As he let go, the thick fingers only relaxed into a half-open position. The girl in her coveralls walked around to his front with the tablet in hand again.
"How does it feel?"
"Like I'm getting a full body hand job," Charlie admitted. The gel pads pressing against his naked skin felt like a slime monster was trying to feel him up. A small fan blew air across his face, which made him want to sneeze.
"Is there any way to scratch my nose?" He asked.
"That feature costs extra," the girl said tapping her control tablet. "Try moving around, let's see if we can get the suit calibrated."
He lifted his right leg, and the armor moved as if he were wearing concrete shoes. There was a slight delay as his legs pushed against the gel pads, and the suit finally recognized what he wanted. It didn't help that they were on Mars, so the gravity was only 1/3rd that of Earth's. He felt like he was standing on stilts and swimming in heavy water. Despite being slow, the suit's powerful actuators pushed him into a leaping bound. Charlie flailed in surprise, and the armor bounced once on the rocky red surface, then slid to a halt.
"Your numbers aren't bad," the girl said in surprise. She tapped at the tablet a few more times. "Keep at it, once you get used to walking around we'll start on some of the suit functions."
He closed his fist and pushed himself off the red loamy martian dirt to his knees. Then he awkwardly shifted his weight and straightened. This time when he moved forward, he pictured himself floating. The armor sailed ahead three or four feet, and he came to a skidding halt. After about ten false starts he ended up skating along in a shower of red dust.
"Good, good. Let's move on. You can practice on the way to Mars."
Charlie came to an awkward stop about twenty feet away.
"The radio is voice activated and will be your chief means of communicating with your squad. We have hopefully fixed the problem with the aliens pinpointing your location. Instead of broadcasting like before, the suit will add a delay to your words. It encrypts and sends out packets in little bursts, so a captain will need to be quite close before he catches your signal."
"As a squad leader, you'll also have access to the command channel. To switch over, turn your head to the right. You should feel a small button with your chin. He did as instructed, and Charlie felt a rounded nub. As he pressed it, his HUD changed slightly; SQD was replaced with CMDNET. The girl reached up pressing a finger to her ear.
"Can you hear me?" She asked over the radio.
"Yes."
"Good, you may be given new mission orders or asked for an update. If you find one of the objectives, you will want to call in for reinforcements. Just remember to switch back to the squad channel after you’re done talking."
"If you need out of your suit, just say ‘Get me out of this Tin Can,’ but I wouldn't advise doing it right now." She said with a smirk.
"I suppose the last thing we need to work on is your weapon loadout. Do you have any preferences?"
"Any hints to the environment?" Charlie asked in reply.
"Sorry, I'm not in the know."
Charlie was thinking of taking the twin tommy guns. The devs were going to give him free mods so he could kit them out. He could carry two weapons that shared the same magazines. With the power armor on, he could bring as muc
h ammo as he wanted. The only problem would be reloading. Tobias could probably manage any captains they met. Jen, Monty, and Remy all had weapons capable of taking on the armored soldiers. However, the old man had said there would be civilians.
"Can you load in the two Thompson Center Machine Guns with drum mags and laser sights?"
The woman pushed a few buttons on her console, and they appeared in the air, then slowly fell to the ground. He picked both up, and as his fingers closed on the grips, the green lasers activated.
"Targets?" The girl asked.
"Sure."
A group of cardboard silhouettes appeared about ten meters away. Charlie turned and leveled both weapons. The Tommy guns began to chatter, but the noise was muffled through the suit like he had cotton in his ears. The fat rounds shot past the targets before he settled both guns onto the middle one. Even on full auto the suits arms barely moved as the weapons emptied themselves. A ragged hole about the size of a pie tin filled the primary target.
"Reloads please," he said and several drums appeared. Charlie picked up a mag but found the release was a little nub, and his thick fingers struggled to press it in.
"I need oversized controls."
The woman was already prepared for it, and a long mag release appeared on the weapon. He thumbed the release, and the empty drum slid free. Then he pushed the fresh mag in and yanked on the top bolt. Trying to shoulder the gun was awkward in the armor. Jen was going to have a tough time if she brought her .50 caliber Barrett. There was already a sling on the weapon. He could wrap it around the forearm which would keep it from dropping to the ground when he let go. That way he could reload one gun at a time. The only other thing he needed was a belly pack full of mags.
"Grenades?" The woman asked.
"A little bit of everything, and a couple of pounds of C-4." Another thick belt appeared on his torso. All he had to do was yank a Velcro'd grenade free and throw it.
"Are you satisfied with your loadout?" She asked tapping her tablet again.
More weapons would be pointless. Sofie, while a fantastic gun, wouldn't be much use. Charlie suspected it was going to be cramped, urban fighting. The two machine guns would probably serve him better in close quarters, but should he bring Elva too? The pistol would be a last-ditch weapon.
"Put on my 1911 as well. I probably won't need her, but it's best to be safe." He said at last. Around his leg, a thick thigh holster appeared. He let go of the Tommy gun, drew Elva, and thumbed the safety off. Even without a laser sight, he managed to put a few rounds into the target's head.
"The shuttle is going to launch in about ten minutes. You should be there." The girl reminded him. "If you want to practice more just find an open console and restart the simulation."
"Appreciate the help."
"Good luck," she said ending the training session.
Charlie appeared above ground on a flat scrub filled expanse which reminded him of the Nevada desert. Thousands of people, mostly NPC’s, lounged in chairs and drank beer while they waited. Camouflage tents and cameras were set up to catch the event. Charlie didn't find his squad right away, so he parked himself in the company of a few young technicians. He suspected this was in the 'real world' version of the game, or at least one of his clones was sitting here. Something cold touched his arm, and he looked over. A young girl with welding goggles on her head smiled.
"You look like you need a beer," she said. The brown bottle was plain without any markings, but it was covered in condensation. Charlie took it and tried a sip. The world may have ended, but someone still knew how to brew a good beer. It was light, hoppy, and Charlie drank about half before he belched.
A siren sounded as dirt and scrub brush rose into the air. Two halves of a massive hatch slowly split open. The crowd started to cheer. It took about a minute for the steel portal to fully rise, and all the while thousands of people roared. The mob was only about half a mile away, so the sound was almost deafening when it came. The missile slid free in a rush and rose skyward on a curtain of fire. The two dropships to either side used their articulating thrusters to keep the rocket stable. The crowd stood raising their hands to shield from the glaring sun.
Charlie watched it until the contrail disappeared. In other parts of the world, three more rockets launched into space. Each of them on a trajectory for Mars.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Spacebunnies
Everyone laughed as Remy slammed into the ground. There was a shower of red dust as the two-ton suit skidded to a stop. The young girl cursed over the radio and kicked her armored legs about. Her Power Armor was like a miniature version at only six feet tall.
"Bloody help me already!"
"You aren't going to get help on the mission. Most of us will be busy shooting back at the Roth." Charlie reminded her. He was honestly surprised the girl was having such trouble. Typically she was one of their best players. Tobias bounded over in three leaps, bent slowly, and picked up Remy's suit by her power pack.
"Stop trying to shoot while your moving," Jen suggested. "The weapon recoil is just going to spin you around and push you in a strange direction."
"Our battle sister is correct. The sacred engineers cast cleats upon our feet so that they might grip unstable soil." Tobias said letting Remy go, and she just managed to keep her feet in the dusty red soil.
The simulation was momentarily frozen in time. Clownishly goofy T-Rex dinosaurs, which represented the aliens in this training scenario, surrounded the squad on all sides. Red beams slid through the air like molasses on a cold night.
"Let's try this again," Charlie said activating a floating console. "We need to alternate our strides, especially as we approach the enemy outpost. I want two people on the ground ready to fire while the others move forward."
Charlie and his armored squad reappeared some two miles from a low Martian hill. Almost immediately, lasers began to zip past sporadically as dinosaurs spawned ahead. In the distance, a glowing beacon marked the enemy outpost.
"Jen and Tobias first, then Remy and Monty. I will follow behind and guard our flank."
It was like watching ungainly robots moonwalk. Jen and Tobias had proved the most adept and gliding over the Martian surface. He'd made them the point team precisely because of that. Monty had considerable skill, but he still only possessed that flintlock rifle.
Jen and Tobias jumped clearing a ten-meter crater. As they landed Monty and Remy made several small hops before jumping the same obstacle. Charlie brought up the rear and slowly skipped over the rocky landscape. As they neared the enemy position, goofy T-Rex dinosaurs stood from cover. In their stubby reptilian claws, they held laser carbines.
Their aim was atrocious as they fired from the hip, and lasers cut wildly across the expanse. Jen held a heavy British FAL, which was a semi-automatic rifle chambered in 7.62x51. She paused next to a boulder and raised the weapon to her chest. Attached to the Picatinny rail, was an oversized 4x scope. The air density was less than one percent that of earth, and gravity roughly one third. She purposely aimed low at the knees of the distant T-Rex and fired. Sparkles filled the air as the giant head of the dinosaur disappeared. Together the squad bounded forward again, but Remy was still struggling to keep up. Her short legs and lack of coordination meant Monty had to slow too.
"Slow pushes," Charlie reminded them. "The real Roth aren't pee brained dinosaurs. They may be waiting in the shadow of a crater."
Charlie was grateful they didn't sweat because he would have drowned by now as it filled his suit. His skin felt unnaturally hot, and the gel pads were starting to remind him of slimy tentacles wrapped around his body. They managed to make it two kilometers closer this time, but the further they got the more NPCs spawned.
"I need to log for dinner," Jen said.
"I too must depart," Tobias added.
"Fine, over training won't help us anyway. Have a good night and sleep well." He said turning to his right.
A small blue console had followed him all through
simulation. He tapped at the screen with his armored finger, which ended the scenario and Charlie came too in a small ship’s berth. The room was a converted equipment storage compartment. Five bunks had been affixed to one side. Across the ceiling and walls were hundreds of rounded metal rings, probably for tying the cargo down. All of the weapons were present in the small room. The only ones missing were Monty and Grace, though the man was a digital ghost now, so it wasn't like he would ever log off. Jen and Tobias were logged out in the two bunks opposite, while Remy was conked out on the birth below him.
They must have been in a digital instance of the dropship, which made sense. There were almost five-thousand armored suits in the lower deck. The players would be crammed like sardines in what little space remained. Instead, his squad had this particular version of the dropship to themselves.
