Chapter 22 - Capture the Flag (2/2)

"Quit being such a cheap ass!" Yurika yelled back

"It's frugal! Not cheap!" countered Gray, although he admitted it was a weak counter.

"Gray, for team unity, I do recommend an emblem as in the future it will provide us with a symbol to rally behind." said Caleb.

"FINE, I'll take care of it when we take a break!" Gray said while pretending to surrender to the masses. Truth was he really didn't know about it because he never really explored the team setup part nor did he read the manual that thoroughly. "Let's focus on the match now!"

Gray was a little surprised that when they spawned into the map, they weren't given a mech selection screen or even a loadout selection screen. It seems that everyone has the same basic mech, a Capture the Flag variant for the standard Phalanx Mk 01 as well as an assault rifle strictly for the CTF mode. Inside everyone's HUD was an indicator with a full green bar in it that said "Hit Points: 10/10".

"Hit Points?" asked Gray

"Yes Gray, Capture the Flag uses hit points to determine the life or death of your mech. The weapons we have are basically paint guns that merely mark on the mech where it has been hit. You lose hit points depending upon where you get hit. When you run out, your mech is destroyed and will respawn after a set timer back at your base." said Caleb.

"Oh, that sounds good! Respawning isn't realistic, but that is also what makes it kind of fun since we can fight without worry!" said Gray.

Gray looked at the map provided and saw that it was a long and somewhat narrow map. This didn't leave much room for guesswork as the amount of routes to the flag was very limited due to the smaller map. Gray was hoping this would be as fun as these types of games were Gray's personal favorite. Not wanting to waste any more time, Gray started to excitedly give out orders. "Let's find out what they're trying to do first, it's better to counter than to rush in blindly even if we can respawn."

__________

Felicia was wearing a military uniform similar to what the cadets of the academy wore, a dark blue skirt and matching coat with an Alterra Corporation visitor badge clipped to her breast pocket. The insignia on her upper sleeve indicated she was a 1st Lieutenant. Currently Felicia was having a meeting with Drake and a virtual presence of a man dressed in a uniform similar to Major Valen of Alterra Online.

"Lieutenant Stone, what is the results of the players you've been assigned to monitor?" asked the virtual presence.

"General, sir, I have determined that none of the current players understand the purpose of the Alterra Project. I have flagged a few names that I believe could potentially hinder our efforts, but I believe we are able to proceed with phase 2." replied Felicia.

The General, as Felicia called him, appeared to be in his late fifties with graying hair and a streak of white on each side. The dark blue slacks matched the blazer and fit perfectly on his large framed body. The insignia of a general on his shoulders with 2 stars indicated he was 2 star general and thus high ranking.

"Excellent, we'll consider closely monitoring the players you have flagged." said the General. "Mr. Teach, we would like you to reduce the amount of character customization allowed for the beginning of phase 2. Cosmetic changes weren't the problem, and thank you for being far-sighted and not allowing gender changes, but the body mass and structural changes were almost beyond our capacity with just the test batch of 800."

"Understood sir, we'll say it was a Diamond-tier exclusive then."

"Frankly, some of them were disturbing. One player tried to give himself squirrel vision by moving his eyes to the side of his head as much as possible. Should've let him keep it just for the amusement honestly." said the General while laughing to himself.

"Sir, I do have one suggestion" said Felicia.

"Yes Lieutenant Stone?" replied the General.

"I suggest we keep an active listener on one of the players instead of the standard passive. His intelligence may be beneficial to us, but we don't want him to learn what our intentions are."

"Wise decision, Mr. Teach, does Alterra have enough staff to spare to allow another active listener?" asked the General to Edward.

"Yes, I can have them start once the target is known."

"Good, now who is the target?" asked the General to Felicia

"Caleb Waldowski"