Variance Page 15

  Everyone looked at Paul, waiting for his reaction. His headache did not help his ability to focus on the news. He took a deep breath to stabilize his mind and channel his emotions from rage to a desire to influence those around him.

  “Shadow is one step closer to a world order that will lead to our extinction. Fight hard, move fast, and stay together. If we win this, we can win anything that gets in our way and create a better future.

  “Nyle and Pela, you two have an advantage by acting as one. Utilize that strength toward protecting the team. Corda, although your suit is a large target, you are a battlefield multiplier by maximizing both defensive and offensive tactics. We will rely on your abilities to eliminate any threat that stands in our way, using Siren’s disarming guidance. Ryan and Cyprian, this is your time for glory.”

  Ryan stood tall, in contrast to his sickly stance thirty minutes ago. Cyprian rocked back and forth, ready to fight. Nyle and Pela held each other’s hand, reaching out with their other hand to Corda and Ryan. Corda rotated her neck, creating several cracks with her bones. Siren stood next to Paul with determined eyes focused beyond the open gate.

  “Let’s load up.” Paul walked toward his logo-covered suit. Colorful emblems, names, and flags covered every inch of his armor.

  Ryan patted Paul on the back. “Bad-ass speech.” He laughed and walked up to his family, hugging everyone in his arms.

  Elise kept her firm stare on Paul. A convoy of small transport ships arrived, some of them armed with externally mounted machine guns and lasers. Elise led her kids into the ship, waving at everyone.

  The Variance suit blossomed open to allow Paul to step inside the bulky material. His battlefield interfaces coupled with Siren activated as she melded into his suit. He brought up Ryan’s icon in his communications interface and watched Ryan’s family depart.

  “Are you sure they will be safe?” Paul said.

  Ryan’s face replaced his image. “I hope so.” His suit hummed a loud reverberation as the engines activated. Corda’s suit added to the ground-shaking vibrations.

  Siren marked everyone’s face on Paul’s communication interface with a green border. She spoke through the team’s channel. “Ryan, we’re ready to move out.”

  Paul hovered and followed Ryan toward the gate. He watched his team float beside him. The sight excited him, and chills coursed throughout his body.

  They flew out of the building to begin their thousand-kilometer journey. Paul and Cyprian attached themselves onto the Variance armor plates on Ryan’s suit for the supersonic flight. Siren remained engulfed in everyone’s data, analyzing everyone’s heart rate to fuel usage.

  Were they ready? If Kaiser could handle a hundred Crimson soldiers singlehandedly, just imagine how much more a team of Variance-modified suits will be able to handle in Divine Might, Paul thought. He’d started alone, and now he had a team.

  For Kaiser.

  The team flew through the burning heat of Forever Summer. Prism’s reflective light from Sol blinded them. Heat waves distorted the arena, which was twenty kilometers in diameter and stretched from both ends of the horizon ahead of them. They flew over ripples of giant sand dunes striped with distinct spectrums of brown and red.

  Several spectator ships approached them. Like the group that had assaulted Nyle’s family, spectators, who stood on top of their ships, wore colorful face masks and metallic suits.

  A holographic screen appeared on the side of the ship with a sign that read, “Die, demonic vampires.”

  One of the spectators threw an object that Siren identified as a bomb. Cyprian detached from Ryan and knocked the bomb toward the ground. The bomb exploded below the ship’s belly, and shrapnel hit a spectator.

  Before Paul could say anything, Ryan commanded, “Keep flying. They’ll be fine. Look—we’re already on the news. They’re calling us brutal savages.”

  “Maybe we should help them to save our image,” Paul suggested with a sense of urgency.

  Corda responded with a pushy tone. “We don’t have time, which was why we skipped the concerts, fireworks, and parades. We only have enough time to refuel. Sorry, Paul. Remember, flying fucks.”

  Siren, flying beside him, shrugged with pressed lips.

  Paul sighed, knowing that incidents like that would only fuel hatred for Utopians and contribute to the difficulty of refugees surviving on Xameeshee. “Let’s try to avoid all interactions with spectators, even if they’re throwing bombs at us.”

  They approached the gigantic arena wall and followed the directions toward their bay. As they flew along the wall, fans and protestors clashed, with some bleeding profusely and some falling to their deaths. People even drove their ships into floating holographic generators advertising Team Radiance. Balloons and glass bottles crashed into Ryan’s suit. Regardless of the protests taking place around them and all over the world, millions of people wagered strong for his team through the betting system.

  Ryan flew into an opening in the wall filled with workers and transport trains. The crowd’s noise turned into an echo. They reached a large bay with a digital banner of their team name hanging from the ceiling. The bay also contained open boxes of ammunition, fuel, armor plates, and food. Everyone except Paul and Cyprian positioned his or her suit next to a charging station, and large-diameter flexible piping automatically connected to the mechanical suits. Multiple quality-control personnel with drones conducted their visual inspection.

  “Two minutes. There’s nothing else for us to use here. Stand by for battle data.” Ryan’s heart rate skyrocketed.

  “Siren?” Paul slid off Ryan’s suit and stood close to the closed gate. Cyprian and the inspectors followed.

  Siren kept her eyes on the team’s data. “Yes, Paul?”

  “I’m proud of you. Do your best out there.” Nervousness ran through his body. He started stretching and moving his arms and legs while taking deep breaths.

  She moved her focus to him. “I’m proud of you too.” She hovered toward him and hugged him through his suit. Her warm embrace calmed him down. She looked at his lips.

  “Yes?” He moved his head back slowly enough not to be obvious.

  She moved her gaze to his eyes. “Nothing.”

  Behind the gates, the crowd roared with cheers. All the inspectors stepped away and gave Paul a Visuals report that the team had passed inspection and should consider replacing the plastic armor on all team members. Loud horns and fireworks erupted outside.

  Paul chuckled.

  Ten teams had registered. Forty-seven of Forever Summer’s best combatants entered. There were no quitters. Team Variance possessed the most members. Team Logic had the smallest number, with only two Abstract fighters. All combatants, excluding Paul and Cyprian, were veterans with histories of participating in multiple championships. Cyprian was not the youngest combatant; a younger girl was piloting a Controller suit.

  Several updated profiles appeared on Paul’s display, grabbing his attention during his flight to the arena. Many of the fighters had modified their suits with personal touches or enhancements. One fighter had covered his Legacy suit with Frequency panels, possibly reducing the amount of damage from energy beams and radiation. Another fighter had quadrupled her Abstract material. He was glad his team possessed its own unique Variance modifications.

  Championship battle type: Stronghold plus terrain, multiple beasts, and drone survival. Battle platforms: Conventional, hybrid, modified, and high-radiation warfare. Primary obstacle: Combatants. Time: 30 minutes. Bonus: First kill grants ammunition and energy replenishment to victor. Second kill grants ammunition and energy replenishment to selected team member. Sequential kills grant replenishment or mechanical repairs. Team kill grants new battle suit of choice. Restrictions: Cannot kill beasts. Only one team member required for time accumulation. Only one team allowed in stronghold for time accumulation. Penalties: Beast kills equal
disqualification. Reward: Most time grants entry to Forever Fall championship, ownership of Forever Summer’s capitol building, and partial mineral rights to Forever Summer’s energy sector.

  “Thirty seconds.” Ryan disconnected from the charging station and stepped toward the gate. His large feet rocked the deck. “Everyone behind me. Corda, secure the rear. Cyprian and Paul, stay with me. As soon as the gate opens, follow me, and do not stop. I want a diamond formation with Nyle and Pela on my sides. Nyle, long-range protection. Pela, short-range protection. Siren, guard us from whatever else passes through.”

  Everyone responded and confirmed his or her orders.

  Siren highlighted everyone’s status. “Everyone’s at 100 percent. No errors to report.”

  In the event interface, large white numbers appeared on a black backdrop. The crowd counted down from ten. Paul took deeper breaths. His heart pounded. His throat tightened.

  A pole slid out of Ryan’s mechanical arm and expanded into a shield with an energy field. In his other arm, a pole slid out and expanded into an energized sword. He broadcasted a fast-tempo song with an intense pounding of bass drums, blaring guitar chords, and a screaming singer. Paul watched as he squeezed a bottle of lemon juice into his mouth. He then yelled along with the indistinguishable lyrics, banging his head up and down to the beat.

  Doesn’t he have canker sores in his mouth?

  At the end of the countdown, the gate slid open, and light blinded the team. Lasers ricocheted, and bullets pinged off Ryan’s suit. Explosions erupted and destroyed the sliding gates. Ryan launched forward, and they all followed at high speeds with moderate cloaking as impacts from fragments and bullets revealed their armor.

  “Clear the path!” Ryan shouted. An upward swing of his sword released a wave of energy followed by lines of rail-gun projectiles. A wall of drones melted and exploded everywhere. Nyle and Pela cleaned up the rest of the preemptive drone-strike force.

  Inside the arena, dozens of terraformers created a dome containing all environments. Multiple giant armored jellyfish and eagles flew around floating ice structures, lakes, and lava globes. Smaller dragons, about one-twelfth the size of late Mama Ester, ejected streams of radiation out of their snouts.

  Fragments of metal crashed into Paul. They cleared the area and flew away from nearby hazards in the gravity-free environment. Blinding colors, streaks of bullets, and roaring sounds made Paul stare in awe.

  The championship was entirely different from what he had expected.

  Siren looked back at him, breaking his stare. “High-radiation fields. We have enough material to last approximately thirty minutes. That’s for everyone.”

  Their map identified the first stronghold location inside a floating spherical lake filled with several giant jellyfish. Pela highlighted several teams approaching the stronghold. “Eight teams, three in range, approaching stronghold.”

  Ryan highlighted an entry point into the lake near the bottom, far from the jellyfish. “Insertion point. Paul, Cyprian, stronghold. Pela, Nyle, air support. Corda with me.”

  As they headed to the lake, large boulders of rock on random trajectories directed their paths toward the team. Heat signatures rose all around the boulders.

  Pela shouted, “Ninja drones! One, six, nine o’clock, two hundred meters.”

  “Corda, with me. Cyprian, Paul, on Pela. Pela, need a wall. Nyle, flank.” Ryan arched his sword to the rear.

  Paul and Cyprian leaped off Ryan as Corda zoomed by with her rockets at full blast. They reached Pela, who formed layers of drone walls in front of her.

  Ryan swung his sword upward, releasing crescent blades of energy. The blades broke off rocks attached to a transforming drone. With the size of a Legacy suit, the drone unsheathed four swords, all with guns and lasers attached along the centers of the blades.

  Paul watched Ryan and Corda engage and switch attacks between drones in unspoken and natural choreography. Ryan blocked an attack with his shield and then swung energy at a drone approaching Corda. Corda flew downward, below the wave, and fired successive volleys of missiles at the drone behind his shield. Rail guns covered all sectors of fire.

  “I didn’t know they were robots until they charged at us. I can’t imagine what other surprises await us.” Siren scanned the area heavily, updating everyone’s interface.

  A third drone grappled with Ryan, attempting to crush the cockpit while lasers drilled into his mechanical joints. His arm contorted itself to angle the sword toward the drone’s head and pierced the head off. Corda stabbed the second drone and tossed it while cutting the third drone in half with a laser beam from her mechanical head. Ryan threw his shield at the second drone. The shield separated into several pieces with electrified edges and severed the drone into pieces.

  Paul realized that Legacy suits were more powerful than he had comprehended as he watched in amazement.

  The shield returned to Ryan intact. He led the team toward the lake. “Get ready.” His background music changed to a different track, maintaining the same heavy intensity.

  They dove into the lake. Corda’s and Ryan’s turbines activated and maintained their speed. Each of Pela’s drones propelled her forward. Nyle, having small turbines, used the ability to change the density of water around him to maintain speed. He sped in front of Pela as Ryan and Corda secured the rear.

  Jellyfish with lightning-fast tentacles grabbed and electrocuted fighters in the distance. Other fighters fought each other near a stationary boulder situated in the lake’s center.

  Siren highlighted a location on the right side of the boulder, at the edge of the stronghold’s boundary. “Land here.”

  Pela approached the boulder. Paul and Cyprian dismounted. The boulder’s gravity field drew them to the surface. She and the drones vanished in a holding pattern and ceased movement. Nyle disappeared.

  “Someone’s here. We’re not accumulating time.” Siren separated a few globes off Paul’s suit and searched the area.

  “Be on guard.” Paul watched Cyprian float behind him, offset to his right. Both of them walked to avoid creating air bubbles.

  One of Siren’s globes made contact with an Abstract fighter. The fighter uncloaked and released a series of spears toward the globe. Siren pulled the globe back toward Paul and highlighted the silhouette of a second Abstract fighter approaching from behind.

  “Behind you!” Paul shot out an arc of material to block the sharp tentacles aimed at Cyprian.

  Cyprian ducked and sent spikes toward his opponent. The fighter countered, and Paul continued the counter chain with complex interweaving spools of material. Material from both suits moved quickly, creating rising curtains of air bubbles all around them. He held his ground against the fighter, with Siren defending Cyprian.

  Paul wrapped and secured one of his tentacles around the fighter’s network of tentacles and shields. He pulled the fighter away from Cyprian. Then he focused his material on the other fighter, with staggered movements of shields and spears at the rate of ten to twenty actions per second.

  He anchored himself to the ground. All the material unified into a large single tentacle and punched straight into the lassoed fighter. The fighter took the impact and leaped thirty meters back.

  Paul concentrated the material and pounded the other fighter into the ground. The fighter converted material into a plate and blocked Paul’s hammer. Through Cyprian, Siren snaked material onto key points of the fighter’s body. Paul electrocuted the fighter on Cyprian’s behalf. Disabled, the fighter floated helplessly in a frozen suit.

  “I could’ve done it.” Cyprian waved his hands outward in frustration.

  The other fighter catapulted toward Paul. Together, Paul and Cyprian delivered an onslaught. The fighter stepped backward, unable to fight off combinations of moves. The fighter used the additional material and pushed Paul and Cyprian back.

  Siren form
ed herself out of Paul’s suit. “All right.” She assumed a fighting stance.

  “Paul, we need to hurry up.” Ryan grunted with a giant jellyfish trailing behind him.

  “Working on it.”

  Paul, Siren, and Cyprian charged at the fighter. The fighter formed unconventional defensive and offensive polygons around them. A flat plate knocked Cyprian out of the way. Siren’s body split into several smaller parts to avoid the polygons and rejoined close to the fighter. Paul caught up, with the tips of his spears contacting thin locations around the fighter’s armor.

  Siren placed her hands on the fighter’s head, and together, she and Paul electrocuted the fighter. The rigid material floated with the unconscious fighter. “Pela, keep them safe.”

  “Deploying.” Pela sent drones to pick up the Abstract fighters out of the stronghold while fighting off other teams attempting to enter the area.

  “Stand by, Cyprian.” Paul scouted the area for movement.

  Paul watched Nyle in the distance. Nyle created a massive air pocket around his suit that contained four other fighters. Pela’s drones entered the pocket while firing missiles, lasers, and bullets. Nyle released the air pocket, and water crashed into the fighters.

  Ryan cut off jellyfish tentacles that were wrapped around his arms and legs and slowly burning into his armor. Siren used the Variance armor plates to sever the electrifying tentacles. Corda rammed into the jellyfish’s armored head with her shield, almost falling deep into the soft head with the broken armor.

  Ryan grunted. “We could use the bonuses, Paul. We’re not getting anything for disabling enemies.”

  “Shadow’s our enemy. Not the participants.” Paul spoke loudly to express his opinion among the team and fight off Ryan’s reasoning.