"You killed them." Lumina stated quietly, "You did it like it was nothing."
I tossed the pipe aside. "They would've done the same to us. Hell, realistically they would've cannibalized us." I shook my head, massaging my forearm.
Lumaina frowned.
"I just don't get it. Why, why would she let us die like this? Doesn't she want more pilots?"
I chuckled.
"It makes perfect sense, Apollo said that statistically, only those who grab the concept instinctively survive the dip."
Lumina stood to her feet.
"Well, what if one of those guys had understood it?" She gestured towards the bodies.
I met her gaze.
"Lumina, who's made it the farthest on their sims? The top four?"
"Us?"
I nodded.
"Exactly, everyone else was dead the moment they entered. This was never about creating twenty pilots, it was about finding two, maybe four."
Lumina looked down at the mangled bodies on the floor. Her hands were still shaken. She frowned, forcing them to stop. "Fuck it, then I'll just be in the top two. Me and you."
I nodded, "About time you locked in."
— — —
Erika entered the next morning with a knowing smile. She sniffed the air, laughing. "Oh my, I leave for 12 hours and come back to the smell of death. Now who's the killer?"
She looked over at us.
There were nine of us remaining, split into two groups. Mine, and Lance's.
Lance was a physics major, with fiery red hair and a scar along his nose. He laughed softly, jamming a thumb in my direction. "Oi, Teach. There's your little murder right there."
Erika locked eyes with me, her grin growing. "So the good dog has fangs, impressive. I'll admit, after seeing you get your head ripped off I was a little afraid you didn't have it in you."
She reached into her pocket, tossing two protein bars my way. I caught them. "Consider it a treat for a job well done. And on that note, I'll let you rest."
She turned toward the other group. "Up, we have a morning run."
As they got up, I looked down at my protein bars. I squeezed them. Zero sat beside me, looking bored. I handed her one.
"Eat."
She took it, a smile playing on her lips. I handed the other to Lumina, who sat behind me.
"Eat."
Lumina snatched it. Daniel looked slightly conflicted, twiddling his thumbs. I glared at him, "Next time stay awake until the fight is over. Otherwise, you're useless to me."
Daniel nodded.
"Yes, sir."
— — —
Six months have passed since that day.
Lumina and Daniel had gradually improved in the Sims. They didn't bleed as much, they stopped complaining, and most importantly they unlocked Double-A.
From what they told me, hands-on learning was something unlocked during the second half of training.
Which means I skipped an entire half of training. I wasn't just ahead of the curve, I was beyond it. Double-A compared me to a third year in terms of aptitude.
Though practically I was still a novice. Simulation training isn't real-world data after all. Still, because I was so far ahead, my practical exams had shifted to simulated missions.
Like I was currently in.
— — —
Double-A hovered over my shoulder. We were perched on top of a skyscraper in New Valley
A corporate megatropolis with a population of 300 million. My mission is the elimination of a sisterhood terrorist unit.
I had an hour.
I looked down at my combat uniform. It was standard pilot gear. A black battle suit, black armor, a pulse rifle, and two thermal converters on either side of my hip.
They were massive, black rectangles that converted heat into electricity. (They're similar in appearance to ODM gear)
I have a mech on stand-by in case things get messy, but I doubt I'll need it.
"Good luck, Mr. Heart." Double-A disappeared into the air, leaving me alone on the rooftop.
I peered over the ledge. The city was a neon labyrinth. Hologram advertisements were everywhere, selling everything from synthetic organs to space adventures.
And at the base of my tower, dozens of officers and security drones waited outside.
"Come out with your hands up, or we will use lethal force! This is not negotiable!"
"Fuck off ya pigs!"
BANG! BANG-BANG!
An exchange of gunfire.
I smirked, "This simulation is too realistic, the sisterhood always was about their theatrics."
I walked over the center of the roof. I took a knee, placing a hand against the ground.
"Scan material make-up of material."
Material Make-up.
Reinforced Concrete: 85%
Steel Rebar: 15%
I smirked.
I could feel the cosmic dust flowing through my body and into the world.
I had grown beyond the need for verbal commands, I could just use intent.
The cosmic dust began to eat a 1-foot by 1-foot hole in the roof. Two spherical deposits appeared on either side of it.
With the hole opened up, I reached into a pouch on my thigh. Inside were raw material rods. Or RMRs. I grabbed three.
A rod of copper, aluminum, and carbon.
Essential building blocks for high-speed electronics.
I visualized the schematics of two small, compact spider drones. I could visualize the entire thing because of training, but it still hurt though.
I gritted my teeth as the materials were quickly transformed into two small drones in my left hand.
My thermal capacitors went up a few percentages.
I pocketed the remaining RMRs, before tossing my drones into the hole I created.
My vision was split into thirds, one was of my immediate surroundings. But the other two were synced with my drones.
It was extremely taxing and difficult to control. Because cosmic dust can't write code, I had to do the processing myself.
If I had to describe it, it's like simultaneously playing two distinct songs on separate instruments while dodging punches.
Drone A scuttled through the ventilation shaft, tracking hostile targets through each floor. By the time it reached the bottom floor, I could confirm 40 hostages and 60 hostiles.
Drone B was searching for the most optimal path down each floor. Doors, halls, vents…
When it finished, I had it held near the power supply. A backup in case I was caught.
I had drone A keep footage of the leader of the operation. A Sisterhood Sentinel, she and a few scribes were in the server room. I dropped the footage from Drone B.
I still kept its location in mind however as if I forgot, I'd lose the connection.
With everything in place, I widened the hole with another command. I dropped down, immediately shooting a Knight with two shots to the dome.
She slumped against the glass. Her chrome armor was covered in crosses and scriptures.
I moved to the stairwell. There was another collection of six enemies on the 37th floor. I took a few RMRs and made a flashbang. Costing me a few percentage points on my converters.
Daniel taught me the mix, so I guess he wasn't totally useless.
I reached the door to the 37th floor, taking a knee. I switched to thermal vision. Yet, something didn't feel right.
Like I was missing something.
"Double A…"
"Yes?"
"You got any of that… vocal swing?"
"Absolutely!"
"Play some of that."
The sound of smooth brass filled my helmet, followed by the silky voice of a vocalist.
I grinned, touching the lock on the door and disengaging it. Fine shavings piled on the floor.
Lock status: disabled.
I kicked through the door, throwing my makeshift flashbang into the center of the room.
I made it so that the reaction went off when the shell cracked.
There was a brilliant explosion of light, the six acolytes guarding the room shielded their eyes.
Six seconds to waste six targets. The drums kicked in as I raised my rifle.
BANG-BANG!
BANG-BANG!
BANG-BANG!
Six bodies and the music shifted gears. I went down floor by floor, eliminating targets to the beat of the music. It was like I was in a flow state, I didn't have to think. I just did.
Flashbang.
Shrapnel.
Traps and bullets.
Schematics came to me like it was second nature. The hostages on each floor watched in awe and terror, their simulated movements all too lifelike.
By the time I reached the server room, ten Knights were guarding the hall with high-profile hostages. I grinned.
Time for my masterpiece.
I had drone A set itself up at one end of the hall, while I waited behind the door at the other.
Drone B: lights out.
The drone fused itself to the power line, short-circuiting the line and plunging the building into darkness.
The knights jumped into high alert, and that's when I had Drone A explode in a sphere of blinding light. The knights fired blindly in its direction. I rounded the corner, raising my rifle and opening fire.
Bodies dropped one, two, and three.
The clang of heavy armor hitting the ground filled the air. The remaining knights quickly figured out where I actually was. But I had no intention of letting them act on it.
I picked up the body of a knight, using her as a shield while I mowed down her comrades.
When the music reached its peak, I stood surrounded by bodies and terrified hostages.
And yet, I never felt more alive.
I placed a hand against the door of the server room. My heat converters were at max capacity, ready to unleash a charge equivalent to several lightning strikes.
Discharge.
The thermal converters on my hips shrieked as they dumped their stored energy instantly.
The heat didn't just melt the door, but vaporized it.
A beam of superheated plasma tore through the metal, leaving a large hole dripping with molten slag. I stepped through.
And on the other side stood the sentinel. She was armored in high-grade power armor. And armed with a portable H6 plasma cannon.
Behind her, the scribes cowered.
"Heretic!" She screamed, her voice amplified. "I'll rip you to shreds right where you stand!"
I grinned behind my helmet.
"Bring it!"