by Noah Barnett
More technicians were waiting to take the armor away. As soon as Charlie was free they pointed to an unused pod and said, "Enter a cloning pod so you can be re-imprinted."
Charlie waited for his squad to enter the pods first, then followed. As the door snapped shut, darkness closed over him, and words floated in the void.
[Event Complete]
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Return Home
“I want to congratulate all of you. A full debriefing will soon happen, but you’ve done it. The alien base has been destroyed, and Earth is momentarily safe,” Colonel William Blake announced over the intercom. After a few seconds, there was a loud static filled squelch as the channel disconnected. Charlie glanced around the command deck. The engineers had really stripped the ship bare. Alien tubing, ductwork, and exposed cables hung from the ceiling. All the bridge consoles were missing. In their stead was a closed laptop with wires running into the floor.
The trip from Mars had taken almost twenty hours, and Charlie had spent most of that time on the command deck staring at the stars. If this was the last event involving the Roth, it would be his final time in space. Jen and Tobias were both offline getting dinner, and Remy had started a twelve-hour space orgy in one of the storage rooms. He however, wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. The dropship was silent except the low thrum of the reactor, and they drifted through space on sheer inertia. Dozens of players pressed against the glass windows for a better view. The small blue gemstone that was Earth hung on the left side of the ship, and for the last hour, it hadn't gotten any larger.
Monty stroked a hand over his short dark beard. "I wonder if they'll send a rocket after us," he mused.
"Probably not enough fuel to land," a girl nearby agreed.
Slowly the Earth disappeared as the ship turned. Sliding across the right window was a half-shadowed moon, and soon the ship's nose was pointed directly at a darkened spot near the north pole. The blasted and cratered face perceptively grew.
"Ahh, now things have become clearer, but that still begs the question. Why are we approaching the moon?" Monty asked in a bemused voice.
Charlie had no answer for that, and no one else ventured to guess. Without Power Armor, they'd still be stuck on the ship waiting for rescue.
The stark landscape quickly filled the bridge windows. Four of the six engines ignited with a low rumble and began to throttle up. The ship slowed but not fast enough for Charlie's peace of mind. The brilliant lunar surface raced to meet them, and just when he thought they'd slam into it, a small crater appeared underneath them. The bottom of which opened in two giant halves revealing a deep shaft. The dropship continued to slow as it descended past two more vertical airlocks. Gray concrete filled the viewport as spotlights illuminated a massive underground cavern blasted from the moon rock. Blinking red strobes directed them down a runway, and the thrusters quieted to a trickle as the dropship moved forward. The vessel turned again before landing roughly on a marked rectangular square. Several more dropships touched down nearby.
"By my whiskers, I hadn't expected this," Monty marveled.
The colossal airlocks closed one at a time, and the flashing strobes turned from red to yellow. Tanks along one wall began spewing oxygen into the space, and after a minute, the lights switched to a dark green. A much smaller circular hatch opened and workers bunny-hopped toward them in the low gravity.
On the bridge, and across the ship, intercoms came to life, "Please exit the ship and head into the base. The commander is eager to speak to you all."
Gravity was back, if only scarcely, as he joined the crowd heading below. They floated down the stairs using the rails as a guide. Half naked players stumbled from the first storage room. Philip came out of the doorway shirtless and carrying a limp girl in his arms. Remy was dressed sloppily in a school uniform. One of her black shoes was missing, and her feet dangled in the air.
“How was it?” Charlie asked.
Remy smiled letting her head roll back against the chest of the large ebony weapon. “The orgy was amazing, but the zero-gee not so much,” Remy sighed pleasantly. “Turns out you can’t really pound a girl good and hard without gravity.” She shrugged her shoulders and shifted in the man’s arms.
Philip finally let her go, and she drifted to the deck. Her teal colored hair was a mess, and Remy tried to gather it into a single ponytail. Just as she finished Tobias and Jen came out of the last storage room holding hands.
“I did not see that coming!” Remy shouted pointing at the pair. It was a surprise to Charlie too, but he quickly gathered himself.
"How was your dinner?" He asked them. Jen snatched her hand away and slipped ahead into the cloning chamber. Tobias was left looking after her, and Remy laughed at their antics. Charlie wished the big lug the best because, in his opinion, Jennifer was a girl with baggage.
"We just logged in at the same time," Tobias muttered joining the crowd.
"Mmmmhmmm," Charlie mused.
Remy laughed again and asked, “It’s more likely you logged in at the same time—in a locked and private room—then fucked like space bunnies. That sounds far more plausible.”
Tobias said nothing as he turned to join them. The girl bounced along with one missing shoe, but that didn’t stop her from leering at the giant.
“This is why I say just screw and be happy about it. Why does everyone make sex into a huge event?” Remy asked.
The airlocks were opened, and everyone passed into the lower loading bay and down the ramp. The air smelled like burning wires with a touch of ozone, and Remy sneezed. The hanger was constructed of reinforced cement. Warning lines circled the landing pad and led towards an exit. Another airlock opened, and several pallet loaders drove into the hanger with repair equipment. The other dropships disgorged players in a disorganized mass, and they shuffled into the base. The bleak circular hallway was made of yet more gray concrete, but at least it was brightly lit. A thick black and yellow line had been laid on the ground and led deeper inside. The crowd was guided mostly by locked doors, and inaccessible corridors, so the only way forward was to follow the dashed line. Eventually, they came to a major intersection. Young and very young teens picketed the side branches off with linked arms. Most were between the ages of ten and fifteen years old. Charlie wondered what role these children played in all this, aside from ferrying the players toward their destination.
They came to another portal, and above it was the word, "Astronomy." Inside was a circular room about two hundred meters across, and hanging high above were several laser emitters. The hologram of a solar system floated in the darkness with the Sun at its center. Charlie’s squad filed into the room with five thousand other players, and were forced to walk around the podium to find a place to see from. The old man was already standing on the raised dais, and he looked even worse than usual. There were another ten wrinkles on his face, and his hair was completely white, but his back was still straight. Blake was deep in conversation with a much younger girl. He took the datapad from the teen and quickly scanned the report.
"We have all the building supplies we need. Tell them water, and food is infinitely more important than cement. Refuel the dropships and send them back to Earth. We need supplies as soon as possible." He said handing the pad back. The young girl clutched the tablet to her chest, ran down the platform stairs, and through the crowd of people. Several turned watching her bounce away in the skintight gray uniform.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't eyeball my granddaughter." The Colonel rasped giving the players a long glare. They quickly straightened facing forward. The old man put his hands behind his back and started walking in a slow circle on the platform. Earth was spinning slowly just to his left-hand side, but the moon had been replaced with a pulsing blue icon. Charlie looked for Mars and found it much farther away than he'd expected. The red ball was about a quarter the way around the sun, which meant they'd traveled a hell of a long way in just eighteen hours.
Colonel Blake p
ressed a finger to a nearby screen, and for a few seconds, silence manifestly reigned. He tapped it again and raised his voice so it would reach everyone.
"Revenge is best served cold, and in this case a very cold, very dark, near vacuum. The outcome I'd secretly prayed for has come to pass, and it warms my old heart."
"I will spare you the unsightly video we are still receiving from the power-suits on Mars. The Roth continue to respawn over and over. There are so many bodies in the cloning bay it might as well be a mass grave. Unfortunately, a few small ships managed to take off from the spaceport, and are headed out of the system. They are going to warn the Roth about the loss, but we can't do anything about that." He complained with some annoyance. The old man glanced off to one side at two tiny red dots just visible at the edge of the system.
"No, no… let's hand out goodies first before I get too deep into things. You're all here to get paid for your hard work, so I'm going to give you a hard choice between two rewards."
"The first is a special contract slot. You can visit the ‘Armory’ and create a new weapon. You'll be able to decide what gun they are, what they look like, and what underlying personality they are born with."
Almost immediately murmurs started throughout the crowd. He continued before the noise grew too loud. "If that sounds like your game, then jump aboard one of the departing dropships. You'll be given a quick ride home." Blake said pointing toward the door. A large crowd of people left. The gift of making a unique weapon was just too alluring a prize.
"To everyone staying, there is a nasty caveat. Choosing option two means being temporarily barred from logging into Gun Meister." Blake warned in a deadpan voice. The crowd noise surged, and over a thousand more departed. They weren't even interested in hearing the rest. The old man waited again until they had cleared the observatory room, and less than half of the players remained.
"The second option will be more work," he said with a small toothy smile. The old man laughed seeing the expression crossing their faces.
"We at SkyBot Studios would like to invite you to take part in the closed beta of our new game.” He declared pausing for dramatic effect.
“Star Nova Online.”
Several people started to whisper nearby, “A new game?”
“Holy shit, I heard they were working on something.”
“You'll have to sign an NDA, and I'm afraid that's the reason why we can't let you log into Gun Meister. I understand your hesitation, and I can sympathize with the loss of your time invested in the game. In return, you'll bring one weapon into the Beta. Whoever you choose will have their memories uploaded to a ‘human’ clone. I must warn you, again, that weapons in Star Nova are just that—weapons. They don't bounce, or jiggle, or fuck you. They go boom, that's it.
“Uncontracted weapons in Gun Meister will have the option to transfer into Star Nova after the release. In Star Nova they are considered citizens and no longer beholden to you as a Meister. You can and may lose their loyalty. How you act or speak will affect that. We at SkyBot Studios want to be fair to everyone, but you have worked hard. When you create a character in Star Nova, you’ll start with weapons, the armor you currently possess, along with a custom space suit.” Most of the crowd glanced to one another with wary expressions. Remy especially was looking sour faced.
While the players talked, the map of the solar system moved. It zoomed in on a pulsing red icon approaching Jupiter. A small vector line appeared, and the Colonel spoke again. "The Roth just lost their outpost on Mars. The carrier is making a U-turn, and will be back in orbit in about seven days. You have the opportunity to make history, and the chance to defend Earth from another Roth attack. How successful you are will decide humanity's starting point in Star Nova. On Halloween, your weapons already took one step in that direction. Everything saved was another resource we begin with."
"Those are the choices. Go back to Earth and enjoy the fruits of your labor, or join us in Star Nova. Any questions?" He asked.
"Do we get to keep our creds?"
“During the beta, yes. You’ll be able to buy upgrades for your ship. However, the other playable races have different economies, so everything will be reset after release. Gun Meister and Star Nova will also have divergent worlds." He said pointing to another person in the crowd.
"How long will the beta last?"
"Closed beta will end in seven days. The public beta will last until New Years, so roughly two months. Then we'll reset, and everyone will start fresh. Sorry, you will lose your harem by then, but after the beta, nothing prevents you from having accounts in both games."
There was a long silence.
"It's a tough decision, so I'll give you twenty-four hours to decide. Anyone who hasn't signed up for the beta by this time tomorrow will respawn on Earth." Blake said turning slowly to gauge the crowd. It was a hell of a conundrum and he gave them almost a minute.
"I hate to be inconsiderate, but I have a lot of work ahead of me. The Roth Carrier will be here in seven days, and there is much left to do. Before I go, I just want to say, thank you. You've done humanity proud." He said climbing from the platform stairs. The crowd parted for him, and he disappeared down the corridor. Charlie and the Misfits were left standing in nearly total silence, but it was Remy that broke the spell.
"Pfft, I worked my tail off to get Missy back," Remy grumbled.
“Sinner, you’re just worried they will abandon you.” Tobias scoffed turning towards the girl.
"I always wanted to go to space," Charlie admitted. He felt bad saying it because they had all worked hard to rank up. He'd just gotten the Twins, and despite everything hadn't used Sofie much in battle. That was shameful of him, but he’d see the girls again if they transferred into Star Nova.
"I must agree, as an amateur astronomer, the allure of space exploration is appealing," Monty said.
"You've only got one weapon. The rest of us have enough contract slots to count as a platinum Meisters', and when we do rank up, that'll be even more pussy." Remy argued in a disgusted voice.
"Jen?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know," she admitted.
"Tobias?"
"I'll go where Jennifer does."
"One lay, and he's already pussy-whipped," Remy whispered from the corner of her mouth. Charlie thumped the girl atop her head. "What?! It's true…"
Charlie knew he would sign-up for the beta just for the chance to get in on the ground floor of a new game. They'd learn the game mechanics before anyone else. He would miss the girls; damn, would he miss them. But…
"I'm going," he announced.
"I'll venture into space with you, friend," Monty agreed stepping next to him.
"Remy?"
"You guys are stupid. I mean come on. How much sex can you get in real life? Never as much as Gun Meister, that's for sure."
"But, you'll come," Charlie said with a knowing smile.
"Why am I friends with you?" She groused.
"Cause we put up with your bullshit."
"Screw you!" She swore storming away. The small girl shoved her way through the crowd toward the exit.
"See you in Star Nova," Charlie called after her. She didn't look back but raised a finger as she stomped down the hall. He turned to Jennifer next. If Tobias was already hip-locked to the sniper, Charlie only needed to convince her.
"I paid for a three-month subscription. It'll be over by New Years, so that'd be a waste." She dithered chewing her lip.
"Oh no, what a waste of money. You'll lose your harem too, and good men are so hard to come by." Charlie teased, and glanced toward the towering giant, who was suspiciously not looking at Jennifer.
"You're such an ass," she pushed him away.
"Monty and I are going. The blue pervert will probably leave too, not that it affects anything. Do what you want Jen." Charlie said giving the woman space.
"If I may be so bold, young lady. Gun Meister is not entirely your game. Call it a gut feeling, but you'll grow sick of it soon e
nough." Monty ventured coming to his aid.
Charlie never could put a finger on Jennifer, which was why they'd never hit it off. She was a strange mix of sexual innocence and bloodthirsty monster. The woman looked at them both, then up at the ceiling and sighed.
"Fine, I'll go."
"Great! We best go talk to the weapons, and decide which one to bring with us." Charlie said and started down the hallway.
"I will take Gadreel to the heavens," Tobias stated. Of course, the big guy would.
"For me, the deciding factor was being able to bring Grace into Star Nova," Monty said keeping step with Charlie.
"Can't fault you for that," Charlie added.
They moved down the corridor until locating the yellow and black line. Then Charlie just had to follow it to the hanger. Crews were crawling over the six dropships getting them refueled and ready for flight. He stopped a teenage kid racing past him.
