Chapter 553: 4th & 10 (1/2)
Vuxten was very aware that he was late as he walked from ”The Morgue” to the ACQC practice area.
--told you be late-- 471 transmitted from the armored hunch between the shoulders of his armor.
”I know,” Vuxten said, moving at a steady walk with the fluid over-exaggerated movements of a long time power armor jockey. ”We'll get there.”
--cant believe armor was late-- 471 said.
”They kept getting bad diagnostics. It's not our armor's fault,” Vuxten protested. He popped up a piece of stimgum and started chewing.
--cant run leave holes in asphalt-- 471 said. He threw up a meme of tracks hammered in the ground from a bank and someone in power armor saying ”You can't prove I robbed it.”
Vuxten got a chuckle out of it.
It took a few more minutes before Vuxten arrived, coming in very late.
”Captain Vuxten, good of you to join us,” the ACQC instructor, Major Phtelmon said, swishing his armored tail back and forth. ”Take your seat and pop your helmet.”
Vuxten nodded and moved over to the reinforced bench, sitting down and putting his hands on his knees. He tapped the controls with his chin and nose and the helmet seals popped, allowing him to remove it.
”All right, as I was saying, this will be divided into three sections, each of which you will do singularly, followed by three more sections, which will be by group,” Major Phtelmon said. ”The sections will be against light Dwellerspawn units, medium Dwellerspawn units, and then a mixed unit.”
Everyone nodded, some looking back at Major Phtelmon after staring at Vuxten's armor.
”You are not required to use Confederate Standard ACQC,” Major Phtelmon said. ”We're not grading you on form or balance or fluidity during this, you merely have the goal of 'surviving'. In the group phase, it will be teams of five, one of you and four enlistedbeings, against the 'Spawn with the goal to survive.”
Vuxten raised his hand.
”Captain Vuxten?” Major Phtelmon said, pointing.
”Will this be hard light eVR terrain or just wireframe in the training bay?” he asked.
”Hard light eVR terrain,” Major Phtelmon said.
Vuxten nodded. ”Thank you, sir.”
”Let's get to it. Angrawrk, you're up first, Bay One” Major Phtelmon said. ”Artveln, Bay Two. Crestikla, Bay Three, Drevestis, Bay Four.”
Vuxten watched as the big Rigellian got up and moved slowly into the middle of the room. The heavy macroplas sparkled with the integrity field as the door closed behind her. Everyone saw the urban area come up.
”Three, two, one, BEGIN!” Major Phtelmon snapped.
One second Captain Angrawrk was standing motionless, the next she was being assaulted by Dwellerspawn, the largest of which were the size of a small groundcar. She was fighting furiously, moving from target to target. Just over four minutes she started slowing down, not moving as fast.
”She's out of breath. She needs to crank up her atmosphere exchange rate and give herself an O2 nose squirt,” Vuxten said softly.
”Yeah, well,” the Pubvian, Pardnavan, said softly. ”Jesus, fucking Ring Locusts.”
At the five minute mark she went down, the holographic image overlaid her body ripping into several pieces as the Dwellerspawn managed to grab her from different directions.
It went again and again and Vuxten quickly grew slightly bored watching.
Pardnavan had just been eliminated by not avoiding a large gobbet of acid being hucked at him when there was a slow clapping from the entrance.
Everyone turned and looked and Vuxten saw the same Terran as he had seen in the gym the night before. She walked forward, her expression making it obvious her clapping was mocking. She was flanked by two Tukna'rn MP's.
”You have a comment, Madame...” Major Phtelmon said.
”You may refer to me as Lady Khoonkeenadee, Lady Keena, or Your Grace,” the woman said. She looked in at Bay Three, where Captain Ovuntik was trying to keep from being pulled into the mouth of one of the Dwellerspawn the size of a small house. ”I am unimpressed by what I have seen thus far.”
Major Phtelmon looked up at the Terran, clenching his jaws. He had forgotten how arrogant some Terrans could be, having grown used to the professionalism of the Confederate Armed Services. ”Do you think you could do better?”
The woman laughed and Vuxten recognized that kind of laugh. Sharp, mocking, deriding, it was a weapon to provoke a reaction.
Vuxten realized she did believe she could do better and was interested in proving do.
”Me? I am with child,” she said, putting one hand on her slightly protruding belly. ”And armed only with a sword,” her other hand went back over her shoulder to the hilt of her blade.
Both Tukna'rn took several steps back as they leveled their weapons. Their shoulder weapons activated, both locking on the Terran female.
”CEASE!” both Tukna'rn stated at the same time.
The woman's eyes twinkled as she lowered her hand from the blade. The Tukna'rn kept their weapons lowered, their backs to the walls, and Vuxten noticed that both had their shields up.
Major Phtelmon shook his head. ”Then I would request of you, Ma'am, that you watch silently as my trainees practice.”
The woman's eyes sparkled and she smiled, revealing sharp looking even white teeth. ”I didn't say no.”
Major Phtelmon blinked, going back to stare at the woman, who was touching her wrist datalink. Vuxten noted she didn't have a datalink, merely a patch of scar tissue where the datalink implant should be.
”There. I have filed the required paperwork and received permission to use your combat training facilities,” she said, still smiling. ”Your move.”
Sighing, Major Phtelmon turned and waved at the bays. ”Simulation is set for small and medium Dwellerspawn battle units, timed to run for ten minutes or a set number of opponents in the opposing force. You can enter whichever bay you wish.”
The Terran woman nodded, undoing the leather cord holding her top together. She let it fall, exposing her mammary glands, and walked toward Bay One. She turned her head and blew a kiss at the Tukna'rn on her left.
”Stay right here, boys, momma needs some exercise,” she said.
Captain Hwarkakwarg reached down and picked up the leather overbreast corset. She looked at it, then looked at Vuxten.
”I think this is real leather, not nanoforge,” the Rigellian said.
Major Phtelmon shook his head at the woman's actions. He brought up the terrain. ”All right, Lady Keena, in Three,” he said.
Vuxten saw the Terran burst into motion, running for a wrecked car.
”Two,” Major Phtelmon said. The Terran jumped up on top of the car, drawing her weapon.
”What in the world?” Pardnavan asked as lightning wreathed the weapon.
”One,” Major Phtelmon added. ”BEGIN!”
The simulation started with Dwellerspawn the size of dogs, nearly a dozen.
Vuxten and the rest of the class watched as the woman hewed her way through them, constantly moving position, forcing them to move to her, circling and coming in at angles. When the larger ones started to arrive she quickly got in close, often jumping up onto them.
Vuxten noticed she was laughing.
”Never fight a Terran,” Pardnavan mumbled as the woman snatched up a piece of chitin to block acid, threw it at a second, then charged into the face of the one that had spewed the acid at her.
Vuxten watched as she run out the number at the eight minute mark.
Lady Keena raised her face to the sky. ”Is that all the Gods have for me? Sunny days and a street fighting the weakest foes they can find? Where is glory in this?”
”Setting for mixed. Setting weather for rain and storm. Three, two, one, BEGIN!” Major Phtelmon said.
Again, the class watched the Terran female go to work. Vuxten noticed quickly that she was shielding her stomach, that she was compensating for her balance being thrown off.
”Nothing like a Terran to remind us all why they're the apex predator,” Captain Angwark said, shaking her head. ”Look at those muscles.”
”Jealous already,” Hwarkakwarg commented. ”Bulk and definition, not for show, but for raw speed and power.”
”Digital Omnimessiah, she's actually winning,” Shilshren said, the Kobold shaking his head. ”I've never seen anything like it.”
”I have,” Vuxten said quietly.
Both Hwarkakwarg and Shilshren looked at him, Pardnavan leaning out around Shilshren.
”When?” Shilshren asked.
”The Crusade of Wrath. The Dokigurlz. The Kawaii Boiz,” Vuxten said softly. ”During Second Telkan.”
”Man,” Shilshren said, shaking his head. ”That must have been something to witness.”
”Yeah, witness,” Vuxten said softly.
--easy brother-- 471 said. --vitals are up--
”I'm OK,” Vuxten subvocalized.
”Shit, she won,” Shilshren said after a few minutes.
Lady Keena came swaggering back, her sword sheathed after wiping it off on the 'grass', one hand on her hip, the other over her belly.
”Stimulating,” was all she said as she passed Major Phtelmon. She sat down on the bench, picked up a towel, and mopped her face before dropping it back on the seat.
There was murmuring.
”Vuxten, Bay Three,” Major Phtelmon called out.
Vuxten stood up, feeling his armor whine slightly in response. He felt the tickle down his spine, felt his mouth go dry as his helmet wrapped back around his head. 471 blinked the ready icon three times as he walked in.
He was in a city, wreckage everywhere. Vuxten closed his eyes.
”Your weapons are locked out. No chainsword. Goal is to survive,” came Major Phtelmon's voice over the comlink. ”In three, two, one...”
”BEGIN!”
Vuxten opened his eyes and jumped up and to the left, somersaulting in place, landing three stories up, his grav-spike twisting to hold him in place thirty feet off the ground as he scanned the street and the walls.
He saw the small flood of 'jelly-wrigglers' moving down the street and jumped up and across the street, gaining more height.
”You're supposed to be engaging them,” Major Phtelmon said.
Vuxten jumped again, watching.
They crossed into the closer side of the intersection and Vuxten launched himself off, tucking and rolling in mid-air.
”I AM KRATOS THE DESTROYER!” rang out from his speakers, echoing through the silent city.
He slammed down in the middle of the pack, spiking his gravity up to 5G's just before he hit. Pavement exploded out from around him as a bright purple flare rippled outward.
”I'M THE HARBINGER OF DEATH!” rang out as he jumped up to a second story, then shot down at an angle, slamming his shoulder against a wrecked car as 471 fluttered the grav-spike so the car shot away with an explosion of the debris breaking the sound barrier.
The car slammed into the Dwellerspawn as Vuxten backflipped up and away.
”ALL THE GODS TREMBLE BEFORE ME!”
Vuxten's mind was blank as he moved from group to group, crushing them with his sheer mass, gravity, or debris he grabbed. At one point he jumped up and down twice on a wrecked grav-limo, smashing the frame together, kicked it upward, grabbed it, and started smashing everything around him as 471 jiggled the gravity generator to increase the wreckage's kinetic output.
”FINISHED!” Major Phtelmon said. ”Good job, Captain. Round two, medium Dwellerspawn.”
”Give me a full mix,” Vuxten snapped before his brain could catch up with his mouth. ”Give me a fight, Phillip stab your eyes!”
He was unaware of the lighting crackling around his feet, down his arms. Unaware of the white hot burning cutting bar chain wrapped around his fist and forearm smouldering.
”Good luck, Captain,” Major Phtelmon said. He could taste blueberries across the back of his teeth and he wondered if the phasic energy was a remnant of Lady Keena's workout.
The street suddenly went green. Moss and vines everywhere. The skyrakers were coated with them, covered in nodules that waved fronds. Veins were scattered across the street. Overgrown cars here and there, and bones peeking out from under the moss here and there.
The massive Dwellerspawn thundered around the corner and Vuxten narrowed his eyes. He'd seen those, fought those before.
His mind went blank as he launched himself up and out, tucking and rolling.
When he hit his grav-spike howled as he burst through the armor and into the internals. His feet hit the battle-steel hard 'spine' inside the creature and he kicked off instinctively, knowing the armor was designed and anchored to prevent external damage.
Not from him exploding outward.
He was in the thick of it now, his brain consumed with nothing but fury.
”NOT ONE MORE PODLING!” he screamed as he grabbed a stingstirge out of midair by one wing, grabbed the stinger, and ripped its guts out. He reached out, grabbed a bus stop kiosk, and swept a dozen dragonflies from the air, finishing with throwing the kiosk at one of the whippersnappers.
”EVERYBODY HURTS!” came from his speakers.