Proxy War

by Adam Sampson

  Emma smiled and said, “Thanks.”

  Jonas just shrugged, not arguing further.

  They all turned to Dimas, the only one not to talk yet. He waited a moment and then said, “I think I will be a warrior. I was tempted to be a mage much like Peter, but the insanity is worrying. Since our team needs a warrior, I will take the path of sanity.”

  “Well that was easy. Good team, good mix. Thanks guys,” Peter said.

  Just then, Simon burst into the room and said, “Shut up, shut up, everyone. I have an emergency.”

  Chapter 13

  “What? What happened?” Emma asked, panicked.

  “I got a date for the weekend, and I don’t know what to do,” Simon said.

  The five of them sitting there threw up their hands and scolded Simon. “We thought you were serious, jerk,” said Emma.

  Simon smiled and said, “Ok yeah, sorry. But I really do need some help, I have never been on a date before.”

  Emma and Jonas begged off, not willing or able to help. But Peter, Dima, and Lola stayed to offer some advice.

  “You will want to dress up some, anything but your uniform. I haven't seen any flowers around, but some small gift would be nice. Maybe save some cookies from lunch or something,” Peter said.

  “Simon, your hair is messy and ugly, I will help you fix it. Also, your civilian clothes are shit, we can get someone in the room to donate you a good looking shirt,” Dima said.

  “A good date is not just about looks, you have to have good conversation too. Do you know how to ask questions and hold a conversation?” Lola asked.

  “Of course I can ask questions, I am not a kid, I know how to talk,” Simon retorted and stood up.

  “Can you talk for longer than a minute about something other than video games?” Lola said.

  Simon paused, sat down, and said, “I could use some pointers.”

  They smiled, glad that the teenager was willing to ask for help. The three of them all gave them their best advice over the next stan, practicing conversation with him, and generally calming him down. Dima then convinced everyone in the room, including Frank, to let him borrow their civilian clothes to see if they would suit Simon.

  The best shirt ended up being the one that Yoon wore that first day. It was the right size and not bloodstained. It took a bit to convince Simon to wear it though.

  “Simon, stop whining. This is the shirt you will wear tomorrow. You must trust me,” Dima said.

  “Aren’t you gay? How do you know what a woman wants? Why should I trust you?” Simon questioned.

  “I am gay, but that is not why you are listening to me. I have the best sense of style in the room. I will help you and this little girl will fall for you. I guarantee it,” Dime said with finality.

  “He is right, the rest of us in this room don’t particularly care for fashion,” Lola said with a shrug.

  “Ug, fine. I probably would have trusted you anyway. I am just stressed, I really like Clara,” Simon said with a smile.

  The next day was Sunday, the day before the weekend and Simon was a wreck. He was obviously nervous and kept making mistakes. Luckily, his constitution was level four by now, so the numinous bruises were healed by the end of the day.

  Most of the group went back to their room in the barracks to help Simon get ready. Dima styled his hair, Lola gave him advice, Peter gave him cookies for Clara, and Yoon handed over her shirt. Simon was upset about everyone fussing over him but still managed to say thanks before he walked out.

  Dima stood next to Peter and put his hand on his shoulder and said, “He will be fine.”

  Peter laughed and hugged Dima tight with one arm, “Yes, our boy is growing up.” then he reached up and wiped away an imaginary tear.

  Dima laughed and shoved Peter away as he said, “When I have kids with my husband Matthew we will have a much better child than Simon. Ahh, I miss Matt. I hope he will wait for me.”

  “I am sure he will. We must have hope that our families will be safe and protected and waiting for us when we return,” Yoon said.

  “When will that be? I mean, realistically, when can we expect to return home?” Jonas asked.

  “Three to five years,” Peter said, still looking out the door.

  “Really? How do you know?”Jonas asked.

  “I read about the trolls a lot back home. If they survive, most soldiers return for a visit to Earth three to five years after they were taken. As far as I know, they never stay on Earth though, it is just for a visit.”

  “I will change that habit. I will be returning to Earth in less than two years and I will raise my son,” Yoon said.

  “Sounds like a good plan to me, I will join you,” Peter said then added, “With the going back to Earth early thing, not the raising your son thing.”

  Everyone laughed at his expense.

  “Still, two years is a long time. Dang. All this time in the army, and we don’t own anything but the clothes on our backs,” Jonas said.

  “Not for long, Rex said that we can buy stuff at the store after level eight. We can spend orbs like money for stuff. Better beds, nice clothes, that kind of thing,” Dima said.

  “Huh, one more reason to get to level eight quickly,” Jonas replied.

  ...

  They didn’t see Simon until early the next morning. He wouldn’t say how it went, but he couldn’t stop smiling. Everyone was happy for him.

  The next day they went hunting again, as they did most Mondays. This time they hunted advanced zerglings. Most of the zerglings they had hunted up to this point were newly hatched, but these beasts had been out of the nest for about a month.

  Instead of the deep matte black color of the newborns, these zerglings were striped with grayish-red streaks. It was like running around the red mounds had permanently stained their skin. They were slightly larger than when they were young, but also much faster. They were at least twice as fast as the newborns, zooming across the landscape. As soon as the squads entered their territory, the adolescent zerglings attacked heedless of the danger.

  Unlike the newborns, the adolescent zerglings didn’t roar before they attacked. They used cover and stayed low to the ground, streaking towards the soldiers like arrows released from a bow.

  Luckily for the squads, they had upgraded their speed three times by now. This didn’t translate to three times as fast, but it was fast enough. They attacked with precision and skill, the weeks of training paying off. The adolescent zerglings were fast and ferocious, but they were only rushing to their deaths.

  One of the perks of the stronger zerglings is that they had more orbs. Most of them had two orbs and several had three. In less than two stans they had cleared the area of zerglings, and gotten enough orbs for everyone to upgrade twice.

  Rex told them to upgrade their speed today, and to wait a few days to upgrade their strength to level 4. After that they would start their new skill class training.

  Peter and Frank got an extra training on Friday. They learned how to do what Rex had been doing for them until now, planning out hunting trips.

  The two squad leaders were brought into a blue room in the Armory. A row of chairs lined the outside of the room, circling a holo projector in the middle of the floor. It was displaying a large topological map of the base and surrounding countryside. It was vividly colored like the real world, red hills and blue vegetation. It was on a grid system with letters across the top and numbers down the left side. Various parts of the map were outlined in different colors, greens, blues, yellows and a few small areas of red. The area around the base was white.

  Rex waved them forward so they could get a better look.

  Walking closer, they could see small things crawling around the map. It was small representations of the monsters inhabiting each section, zerglings mostly. But that was only in the green sections. The blue sections had the saber-tooth monkeys and something they hadn’t seen before, a snake with a huge head. The yellow section had three weird looking animals,
rino-apes, a worm like hippo thing, and piles of tiny crawling things. The red sections just had tentacles coming out of the ground.

  “In a few weeks we are going to let you guys go hunting with your squads alone, I am going to start teaching a new class soon,” Rex said, “When it is your time to go hunting, you will come here and decide what you want to hunt. Then you choose a section to hunt, say those evil monkeys in section D 12. Then you will trace out a route to get you there and back. You guys are cleared for green and blue areas for now, so you can’t pick any path that runs across any yellow or red sections.”

  Rex traced a few paths through the forests, showing them good and bad paths for their skill level. “Once you chose a monster and a path, you will register the path on your cuff. It gives you a little GPS that directs you where to go. Then make sure you tell the guard at the gate where you are going and when you expect to get back.”

  “But we have never hunted those monkey or snake things, how do we learn to kill them?” Frank asked.

  “That is the ranger’s job. They learn about the monsters and give y’all advice on how to kill them. As squad leader it is your job to come up with a strategy using the info from the rangers. Soon you will be on your own in the great wide world.”

  While they were there, they also met Ensign Butter. He was a tall, thin man, pale skinned and bald. Ensign Butter was to be their commanding officer once Rex was done training them. They would report to him about their training regimens periodically and check in with him before every hunt. Although the Ensign was their commander, they wouldn’t have much interaction with him, just the rare orders he would give out.

  They would be on their own shortly after the class training started. This responsibility terrified Peter, but Frank was looking forward to the autonomy.

  Saturday rolled around and Rex gave them an extra half stan off, and told them to make their final level four upgrade, an upgrade to their strength. Peter followed his team in, and pulled up his screen on his cuff. He was sitting on his bed and most of the rest of the squad had gone to watch a movie. He was the last one to make the upgrade, he was always the last one because he stared at the screen for a while to make sure he was selecting the right one. Before he hit the button, he heard Lola say something.

  “Peter, I would like to go on a date with you,” Lola said.

  He mashed his finger forward in shock, not even looking at his screen anymore. He minimised the screen and looked at Lola and eloquently said, “Huh?”

  Lola looked away, “I mean if you don’t want to, that is fine, I just thought it would be fun.”

  “No wait, I was just surprised. I would love to go on a date with you. That would be a lot of fun. I like doing stuff with you,” Peter stammered.

  The redhead smiled shyly and turned back to Peter and said, “Good. I would like that. Pick me up here half a stan after we get free tomorrow, ok? I want to have fun, just you and me.”

  “It’s a date,” Peter smiled and they both walked over to the couches to watch a movie. Peter was certainly nervous about tomorrow, and was tempted to run across the hallway and declare he had an emergency. But this wasn’t his first time dating. He told himself he would be fine.

  Peter ended up having a longer conversation with himself that night, he was no longer sure he would be fine. He knew he had a crush on Lola and didn’t want to come on too strong during their date. What if they hit it off, and then broke up. How would that affect their team dynamics? Where should he take Lola tomorrow? How could he pick the right one when he didn’t even know the choices.

  He drifted off to sleep with a little more sympathy for Simon and his first date nerves.

  Chapter 14

  The next day was Sunday, and something was on Peters mind. When they were dismissed for lunch, Peter hung back and talked to Rex for a bit. The rest of his squad was going to wait for him, but he waved them on. He stayed behind and talked with Rex, talking quietly and earnestly.

  When Peter joined the squad later, they asked him what that was about, but Peter wouldn’t say.

  The end of the day came, and Peter took his civilian clothes across the way to get dressed. Lola had the room to get ready for their date, Yoon and Dima helping her get ready.

  Peter paced back and forth in Clara’s squad room. He was wearing his suit from the first day, sans jacket, and had a gift for Lola in his hand. Simon and Clara sat on the couches, holding hands, and encouraged Peter to sit and relax.

  Peter was having none of it. He was twenty-five years old, he had gone on several dates, he was reasonably attractive, but none of that made any difference. He was nervous. There was no stress free outcome of tonight. Either they hit it off and Peter had to worry about the impact it would have on his squad and how to avoid playing favorites. Or they didn’t hit it off and it was super awkward, they even had to sleep in the same room. Why didn’t he date outside his room? What had he been thinking?

  He had been thinking of Lola. He liked her. That was the consequence of having feelings, everything mattered more. Everything was high stakes when you let yourself feel things.

  Peter took a big breath and let it out. It was far too late to second guess himself. Either it would work out or it would all go up in flames. Either way, it was time to make the jump. The consequences would have to wait until tomorrow, he was going to have fun tonight.

  Walking across the hallway, Peter stood at door number 12 and knocked. Yoon answered and said, “One moment,” and shut the door in his face.

  He laughed and stood there waiting. Before too long, the door opened, seemingly on its own. Lola stood there, framed by the door with a shy smile on her face. Her long red hair was down and curled, framing her face. She had gotten a dress from somewhere, even though no one in their room had worn a dress that first day. It was a beautiful dark green dress, hugging her curves and accentuating her assets.

  “Wow,” Peter said, shook his head and continued, “You look stunning. Wow. These are for you,” he held out what looked almost like a bouquet of blue flowers. It wasn’t actually flowers, just a bush from outside the base, the ones that smelled like lavender and bacon. Peter had run out and harvested one during lunch time, Rex accompanying him for safety.

  “Oh thanks, these smell so good. They are my favorite smell of all the plants on Omicron,” Lola took the bundle and breathed in deeply, “Is this what you were doing during lunch?”

  “Yep, I thought you deserved something better than cookies from the cafeteria,” Peter said.

  Lola laughed, “You didn’t have to get me anything, but thank you anyway. Let me put this away and we will be off.” Lola put the bush on her footlocker and walked back to Peter. She grabbed his arm in hers and said, “Let’s go. Where are we off to? Rex never told us the options.”

  “Yeah, I asked him not to, I wanted it to be a surprise,” Peter said and walked with her out of the barracks. After a short walk they found themselves at their destination.

  They were at the dance club. Like most modern dance clubs, it had a long bar all along the outside where they could order drinks, but unlike the ones on Earth, this one had several dance floors hanging from the ceiling. There were two levels above the ground, a dance floor at eight feet above the floor and sixteen feet above the floor. They were suspended from the ceiling with several heavy duty chains.

  “Come on, let’s dance on the top floor,” Peter said.

  “How, there are no stairs,” Lola said, looking around for the way up.

  “We jump!” Peter said, and demonstrated by jumping nine feet vertically in the air and landing on the first level. The cuff opened up some fun possibilities.

  Laughing, Lola said, “Ok, catch me,” as she jumped in the air. She landed perfectly on the first level, but Peter reached out to catch her anyway. Lola held out one hand to balance and one hand to keep her dress down. They jumped together to the second level and started dancing.

  They tried to talk to each other, but the speakers were in the ceil
ing and they were now too close. They danced for a while, having fun two stories above ground level. The whole platform swayed slightly, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. Peter didn’t mind not being able to talk to her, just enjoying being with her. Her swaying hips in the tight green dress didn’t hurt either. After three quarters of a stan, Lola leaned in to Peter and said, “Let’s go get a drink.”

  Peter nodded and they jumped down the two levels together. Instead of getting a drink at the bar there, he led them out.

  “I know just the place to get a drink, you will love it,” Peter said.

  They walked east for a while until they got to their destination. Lola exclaimed when she saw it, “A Biergarten! That is wonderful, ausgezeichnet!” It was a typical German bar, stereotypical bavarian biergarten style.

  They both ordered a draft beer and walked back outside to sit on the benches.

  “I have never actually been to a Biergarten you know, they were not that popular back home,” Lola said.

  “Yeah I know, Freiberg is not Bavaria. I still went to a few biergartens when I was in Dresden last, though. I thought that Germans liked them,” Peter replied.

  “Nah, they are kind of touristy. Some people like them, but I never went with my friends. We usually just went to real restaurants or drank at the club.”

  “Do you have any family you miss back home in Freiberg?”

  “My mom died when I was young, and I had to cut off contact with my dad. He was not a good father.”

  “Oh, sorry to bring it up. My dad died when I was a teenager, and my mom is not that great either. I love her but she has a hard time thinking of others. I guess family isn’t a great subject for either of us,” Peter said awkwardly.

  “No, it is fine. I just try not to think about it much these days. So, how did you learn German?” Lola asked.

  “I taught English in Leipzig for a year right after college. While I was there, I practiced my German too.”

  “Really? How did that happen, how did you end up in Leipzig of all places?”