Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 39

After winning three of the four events in Vanguard including from the opening day, Prodos no longer had to worry about placement in the last event. It was impossible for them to lose. That allowed them to approach the one-on-one tournament that had been teased since the beginning without the same pressure.

There was also the question of the consequences Lucius would face which Victoria addressed in an interview. “It’s being discussed now and will be carried out after Vanguard is over.”

Training took on a more contemplative tone as Lucius’s trainers walked him through the decisions he had made. Not even Krato killed him one for the first week after he’d returned.

The Combat Development team celebrated the execution of the plan they’d developed to capture the first flag in the face of Brendon Black’s direct assault. Kline was the hail the Hero of Self Destruction, and Hwan was his unofficial sidekick. What would’ve been the rank D hunter group was handsomely rewarded for sacrificing themselves so early.

Speaking of Hwan, the stealth team received a large bonus in SP after their performance. Most of them had died trying to capture a flag, while only Hwan and Handshake had gotten to do what they did best.

Now that it was guaranteed that Victoria would lead Earth’s psionic training program, she began meeting with the other Colonels. She provided more than just her philosophy but undeniable data that the average Prodos member had unlocked more psionic abilities than any other battalion without slowing their forward advancement.

The last event of Vanguard started at the beginning of the last month. With more than a million participants, it couldn’t all happen in a day. Despite Prodos already declared the victor of Prodos, that didn’t discourage fans from watching their favorites.

Things progressed mostly as expected. Participants were allowed to use military gear while fighting, so even those that couldn’t use every psionic ability could utilize most of them with the right equipment. It actually gave those with less psionic talent an unnatural advantage. But the argument was, if in a battle, they wouldn’t be without their gear, and it took skill to use it.

Lucius and Mel were obvious favorites. After walking through their first opponents, most people forfeited instead of facing them. It was the same for men like the Real Major Jeffery Wright, Master Sergeant Ebrima Okoro, and Master Sergeant Brendon Black. Only, their opponents forfeited less often. Their reasoning was clear. One had the best moment technique in Vanguard. The other had the most powerful long-distance attack. Facing either of them, especially considering they were Freedom participants with a year’s less psionics experience, could be rather embarrassing.

There were exceptions. The arena used was uniform for every fight. It wasn’t small, but it measured thirty by fifty feet with a ceiling at twenty. Whether it was meant to limit the abilities of someone like Lucius who could gather a great deal of momentum if given the room or the size was kept small so that Mel would have to face his opponents up close, it didn’t end up mattering. Lucius easily made use of the walls and ceiling of the large rectangle and Mel didn’t need more than a couple shots to take down all but the most defensively talented individuals. Not to mention that they trained together, which sharpened them. Also, Mel’s movement abilities improved to look more and more like Lucius’s.

Until the last days of the tournament, it was easy going for the two of them. Brendon Black was defeated early by Ebrima Okoro. He would go on to face Mel in the semifinals.

As they faced off, Mel sent an overcharge bolt as his charging opponent. The lengthy Master Sergeant moved with grace no small giant should possess. The most interesting thing about Okoro was that he didn’t have the push ability unlocked, but he ran across the arena walls with his aura blazing and leaped through the air as if he did.

Mel had always been told he was athletically talented, but in the face of the Ebrima Okoro, he seemed rather average. Psionic push bridged the gap between them. The limit of Okoro’s natural ability was that he had to rely on his physicality to move his body while Mel could defy gravity and move in unexpected directions.

The Master Sergeant ended up being the most difficult opponent for him to hit with his psionic bolts in the entire competition. Their fight went on for several minutes. In the end, it wasn’t enough. When a single attack could kill from a distance, it was only a matter of time. There was only one person that was nearly impossible to hit.

One of the most anticipated fights of the entire tournament happened next. Major Lucius Edwards verses the Real Major Jeffery Wright. Once they were called to the arena, both men greeted each other with a nod. There was nothing but respect between them. If anything, Lucius looked up to the older man with a reverence he held for an elite few. Achilles was one of those men. Cornelius was another.

There was an irony to their opening stances. It was the Real Major that took up a defensive stance with his shield forward and spear at the ready. It was almost like looking at Lucius a year in the past, except Jeffery Wright had the mass and power of body equal to any Combat Master. Lucius still hadn’t reached such a level.

Now, the Freedom participant hovered barehanded, wearing only a leather bodysuit. Anyone that followed Lucius’s career knew how partial he was to a shield. He’d once masterfully used one to defeat a rank E user while still in rank F. The Real Major shifted with the same optimization of movement. Instead of matching Lucius’s speed, Jeffery Wright pivoted. Seeing the angle of attack, he shifted his weight just so.

Perhaps it was because of Lucius’s own mastery of the shield, but he tested the man’s defense as he hovered circles around him at breakneck speed.

Lucius’s approach wasn’t what anyone expected. Dodging the man’s spear for the dozenth time, he landed another dragonslayer on the man’s shield. It was an exchange that happened repeatedly. After four minutes at an exhausting pace the purpose of Lucius’s approach appeared. The Real Major’s pshield had fractured.

Jeffery Wright howled in laughter as he tossed his shield away. With a spear in his left hand and his sword in his right, he waved Lucius to come. Using his overcharged weapon bolstering, he began trying to time his opponent’s approach and slashed out.

Even with the Real Major summoning his psionic shielding to block Lucius’s counters, it wasn’t enough. A dragonslayer landed through a kick to the side of Jeffery’s knee. It buckled, sending him to the ground.

 Despite that, the man didn’t give up. Since the tournament was being held in sim, he was determined to force Lucius to kill him.

In the final exchange, Lucius flew in from the side after a push off the wall.

The Real Major extended his spear, which was pushed aside with psionics. He hadn’t used it to stop his opponent, but to judge the distance. His overcharged blade slashed downward.

Slipping right around it, Lucius appeared on his flank. Instead of delivering the decisive blow, he reached out and tagged the Real Major on the side of the head.

Tossing his weapons to the ground, Major Jeffery Wright called out, “I’m done.” Walking over to the victor, he presented himself.

Clasping hands, they walked out of the arena together chatting as if it were just another spar.

There had been speculation as to what the finals might be like if Lucius and Mel had to face one another. Very few had actually thought it would happen though. Vanguard had both been popular worldwide. Other nations had Cubes and their own approaches to making money to supplement their cost to build, but none of them had been as successful as the United States. What was unique was their approach with Freedom. To merge initial training with a game-like world and invite the most psionically talented celebrities to participate was genius even if the Devs execution at times was questionable.

In many ways, Vanguard was similar to what other countries had tried to do from the beginning. To start their psionic programs in a military environment. The US already had the resources, but due to the popularity of Freedom, other countries just couldn’t compete.

That was just in comparison, however. Many nations had successful programs. Vanguard was simply viewed as the chief amongst them.

When more than 4 billion people showed up to watch Lucius and Mel’s fight through the meta, it shouldn’t have surprised anyone. The Freedom participant who upset Ebrima Okoro against his friend, the man who defeated the Real Major and dominated the last two events.

They put on a show, but Mel and Lucius also had another objective in mind. Something had to change. They sparred daily, so it’s not like they didn’t know the likely outcome. Their current record was four to six. Four out of ten times Mel beat Lucius.

Facing off in leather bodysuits, they seemingly bounced around the small arena like human bouncy balls. Mel was faster. His psionics were simply more powerful. But Lucius’s skill was still on a different level.

It wasn’t a real fight. After a few minutes of putting on a show, they met in the middle. Mel released a rank D bolt into Lucius’s chest from less than a yard away. If casting, that meant his shield was down. A rank E bolt struck Mel in the head at the same time. They both died instantly. They’d practiced the timing. A tie was the point. They left their competition with more questions than answers. They agreed to share first place.

It was the best possible outcome for Prodos’s future, and the consequences Lucius was about to face.

Liam sat back in his chair as he finished his summary report. For the safety of Lucius and Victoria, there was one piece missing from the story they were crafting before the final scene.

Even though Victoria didn’t do longform interviews he’d discovered because it would require her to go a location Peter had little control over, she answered some questions over the meta with Mia of Mia’s Haven.

“Is there any romantic feeling between you and Lucius?” Mia asked, trying to look as innocent as possible.

“No. Even though we don’t see eye to eye on many things, I still consider him a close friend,” Victoria said, giving her interviewer a sly squint.

Liam acknowledged her approach. If she had answered while just trying to be as sincere as possible, it could come off as fake. Instead, she fed off Mia’s silliness and treated it as a challenge.

“So you don’t mind putting in a good word for me?” Mia said tentatively.

Victoria laughed. “You guys would make a cute couple. But you know Lucius. As young as he is, he’s already married—to his training.”

They shared a snicker.

“And as for his punishment for disobeying Prodos’s Warrior Queen?”

Cringing, Victoria replied, “I don’t generally make the discipline of my men public, but I will say that it won’t be a punishment as much as something that he’s had coming for quite some time. There’s much that has been going on behind the scenes, and I think what has been shown publicly is a little unfair to him. Perhaps, I could’ve worded things better and been more aware of what message the public was receiving.”

“So he’s in trouble, or no?”

She shook her head. “Not as far as facing disciplinary action even if it might feel like it to him. The reason I mentioned consequences at the beginning of the last event was because of what the public hasn’t heard. You saw me threaten him, but you don’t know what I was threatening him with.”

Mia gave her a sidelong glance. “Is that something you’re willing and able to reveal today?”

Victoria smiled. “Lucius will be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and be given a battalion of his own. From what I hear, he already has a name for it. He’s calling it, Nexus.”

The host’s mouth dropped open as she turned to a side camera and mouthed, “What?” Turning back, she asked, “It’s named after his guild from Gravel?”

The Colonel nodded. “You might even see some familiar faces. One stage of preparation remains before the war with the Ekseliksi officially begins. So far, only a small section of our galaxy has been explored by either civilization. There are a lot of resources up for grabs and military outposts to be built.”

“So Lucius?”

“His days of being planet bound are coming to an end.”

***

As I left the meeting with Victoria and Prodos’s new leadership team, I congratulated Kline on his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. He’d now lead Hectate’s primary defensive force.

For once, he had little to say. His mind was all over the place, but he still embraced me like a true monster.

Mel had also been promoted to Prodos’s Right Hand. He was no longer brooding to cover his lack of confidence. After our game of battalion capture the flag, he was easier going. It wasn’t just his confidence that had gotten a boost. The way he put it was that he no longer felt like he had to make up for what he wasn’t. Instead, he could focus on becoming something more.

It sounded a whole lot like he’d just gotten a confidence boost, but I wasn’t going to give him a hard time about it.

Barrell hadn’t expected it, but he was also promoted. He’d been hard on himself since the capture the flag event since all that he could do was help Heather escape in case they needed her if our base was attacked. But now as Prodos’s Left Hand, he’d be in charge of finding the best locations and setting up military outposts on Hectate.

Despite still being at the middle level of Rank E, he’d placed in the top 1,000 during the one-on-one tournament. He was one of the few men to defeat a rank D opponent with rank E psionics.

I promised him that as soon as he had fully unlocked the push ability that he’d join us in trying the “crazy flying stuff”, as he called it.

With my closest friend’s promotions, there were many that followed. Jerrek, Olivia’s troublemaker brother took over lead of Mel’s casters. He was still a bit of a loose cannon, but he was much better at aiming it than he used to be.

Another man that got a promotion was Ma. He’d be directly under Kline from now on, helping to lead the defense force.

Isamu wasn’t left out either. He’d be a Captain under Ma. They had good chemistry so why not put them in charge of the sword nuts?

They didn’t walk me out as I left Prodos headquarters. Walking out the front door, the first thing I noticed was that the psionic energy dome was down. It was impossible to miss the reason for it. An inner planetary space shuttle the size of a large house had landed on Prodos’s front yard.

Technically, Victoria had had a landing platform installed, so it’s not like the several thousand-ton shuttle was sitting on the grass.

This one had an aerodynamic, jet-like appearance since it would often be used to move in and out of a planet’s atmosphere. It was also combat ready, so almost all of Prodos was gathered outside to check it out while also bidding me farewell.

I was greeted by a thousand familiar faces and many more besides those. Prodos was well on its way to become far more than just a military base. Victoria couldn’t do anything like a normal person.

Barrell had been talking my ear off about a mountain range he planned on building an outpost at that also had several promising slopes for a ski resort. He hoped to convert one for the Prodos, but Victoria was going all in with her encouragement. Not only would there be an outpost. She had plans for a resort. If they could really get the space tourism industry going, then who could say what Hectate would look like five years from now—or ten.

It took me fifteen minutes, but I reached the main parameter around the shuttle to find Hwan shaking hands with HandshakeDeath. LadyHeadshot was standing beside Prodo’s official Captain of stealth operations and her future husband. She wore a summer dress that covered most of her tattoos except for her sheaves and was rocking a baby bump which she didn’t seem to want to take her hand off of.

I strolled over and grabbed all three of them up in an embrace that LadyHeadshot slipped out of almost immediately. I held them both there for a few moments longer than appropriate because Kline…

We were all smiles, but as I pulled away with Hwan at my side, it was impossible to ignore what was happening. Freedom had brought us together originally while Prodos had become one massive family to all of us. And now, some of us were leaving. It wasn’t a long-term farewell.

Out of sim, we were still all stationed at the same base. We’d also be able to use a sim within a sim to train together, which would become a common occurrence very soon. There would also be shared training between battalions. I looked forward to working with the Real Major, Ebrima Okoro, and even Brendon Black who had agreed to be there.

In some ways, we were still competing, but in others, our priorities would change over the next year as we put a greater focus on Earth verses the Ekseliksi instead of battalion verse battalion.

Hwan and I waved to the crowd as we slowly made our way to the onboarding ramp where two familiar faces were waiting for us. The reason we’d agreed to call our battalion Nexus wasn’t just because it was a part of our history, but because the founders were getting together again.

Timur waited at the top of the ramp with his grizzly bear arms crossed over his chest. He smirked at us as we came. The man still wore full body ballistics, but he had unlocked the push ability, so I’d be trying to convince the human tank the benefits of being able to bounce off walls.

Despite his smirk, there was something about him that had changed from before. He seemed more accommodating of the people around him just by the way he acknowledged them. That didn’t mean he’d lost his touch.

I was considered the number one rank E user after the last event’s tournament. The man standing before us ranked second. There were a few rank E users who had been credited with defeating rank D opponents. Timur was the only one besides me who had defeated three or more. His massive sword had doubled as a shield that he could hold away from his body, which allowed his to tank psionic bolts easier than most people.

He and I clasped hands.

Hwan chose that moment to say, “Why do I have the sudden urge to stab you?”

The way Timur looked at him. It was as if they were about to go at it like old times when they embraced instead.

Standing beside the big oaf, the blond headed, Viking-looking guy with long hair and a full beard watched us with an awkward expression.

“Brad,” I said, offering him my hand.

The man took it.

“Thanks for agreeing to join us.”

He shrugged. “You promised we’d get more action than any other battalion in the next stage, Colonel. How could I say no?”

“Good, man.”

Once we were strapped in, Victoria called Prodos back before giving us permission to launch. Soon we were vertical, flying toward the exosphere where our battlecruiser was waiting. Technically, I had no authority aboard the spacecraft. A Space Force Captain was in charge of the ship. What I oversaw was a ground force battalion. In other words, we were just hitching a ride and would be for the next year. My focus would be on training, my men’s and mine, and securing any location that had military significance in this sector of space.

All of it would revolve around Hectate, which was already considered a major military destination. So our dealings with Prodos were far from over.

Unlike the designs of the largest spaceships I’d seen from games, most of them were cylindrical in shape and had boosters on every side of the vessel. There were minor engines and the major ones though. This one was large enough to house two thousand men. We weren’t at full capacity, but half of the ship’s population would be from Nexus, while the other half lived in and ran the spacecraft.

I couldn’t help but feel giddy as if I were a kid again. I’d never been one to dream about space exploration to the extent of some. That didn’t mean I hadn’t fantasized about it either. This would be the best of both worlds. I was now officially an explorer and space marine in one.

Glancing around the flight deck, I saw Nexus’s founding members and a few of them men that had joined Timur’s version of the guild in Freedom. Even if our friend had taken it in the wrong direction, he had changed for the better. And men like him were needed.

As excited as I was, the truth was never far from me. War was just around the corner.

***

It was late that night when I logged into our sim within a sim. Victoria stood there in her ballistic suit with her arms crossed, tapping her foot as if it were about time I showed up.

“Hello, Colonel,” she said, emphasizing my rank.

“Have they made you a General yet?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I have yet to insist. Politics and all.”

“Sounds exhausting.”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Ignoring her very true words, I turned my attention to more important matters. “Sounds like you might want to get more comfortable.”

She tried to hold a serious expression and managed it for a few long seconds. The moment she faltered, she rushed forward and jumped on me. We could finally celebrate not having to hide our feelings for one another every day when our paths crossed in the Prime Sim. And celebrate we did.

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The End of Book 5