An Engineer In Night City - ch 11.4

Preparation (4)

The alien landscape expands across the horizon, with different skies and moons painted on the horizon, and the once pristine and green geography now has a permanent red tint to the atmosphere, as the various ordinances hit the planet leaving ugly scars and craters on the ground.

Flying across his blasted planet, a group of fresh recruits awaits deployment since they finished the basic simulations elsewhere.

“Is this necessary?” The rookie, Jake, complains to other recruits in the group, “It sounds excessive. Why doesn’t the boss hire Militech mercenaries like everyone else?”

One of his colleagues gives him the side eye, “You got out of basic training, didn't you? Or did you sleep through the introduction?”

The rookie shrugs, not seeing where this conversation is going. 

The senior shakes his head disappointed with the answer, “Hiring mercenaries for protection is a conflict of interest since Wube Inc. also has a security license. They don’t sell their security services, but technically Wube Inc. counts as a PMC.”

The fresh recruit isn't impressed, “So they’re cheap, still doesn’t explain why we need to go through this hell.”

“Pain and bloodshed in training will save your life later, rookie." The senior insists with a forceful tone, "Now smart up, we’re ready for landfall. If you’re lucky, you can survive longer than a minute.”

As the group’s dropship delivers them on the ground before leaving, the security forces proceed following the basic training in the simulator, however differently from before, the pain editor's sensitivity was set to 'realistic levels.'

Not long after landfall, a Mortar shell explodes nearby killing off the senior security officer when he tried to protect the rookie. “Fuck! Is this a brain dance? What the hell is going on?”

When the rookie realizes it, he’s not in a simulated environment anymore, but instead, he’s on the battlefield fighting for his life. With his brother and sisters in arms help, they reach the next checkpoint, and the simulated nature of the exercise reveals itself once more.

Still with his heart racing, the rookie curses as he sits on a nearby chair in the waiting lobby. “Fuck! Why would people would do that?”

The senior who had previously died after landfall answers the rookie, “Well, the pay is good. Also, if we reach the end we gain a bonus.”

While the rookie situation isn’t as dire as before he joined Wube Inc. the prospect of higher pay is still a good motivator for himself. For now, he needs to survive.

…

In another area a more experienced group fights on an open field, using their Armored Vehicles to break through the enemy formation, but it is a difficult war of attrition. The enemy can deploy energy shields that absorb most of their weapon’s damage except their Depleted Uranium Rounds, but those have a limited supply.

Slowly, the soldiers advance on the battlefield as the tactics gain refinement with each attempt by the trainees, and the officer’s strategy improves as they learn to read their opponent and their military education advances.

Among the offices fighting in the open battles, is Jackie Welles. While he sometimes accompanies Miguel on different scenarios, when training alone he runs through the lower-difficulty battles.

Despite his experience with the Valentinos and time spent as an Edgerunner, Jackie falls quickly into the simulation.

Back in the lobby, he gasps for air before patting his body. “Easy there choom,” another security officer tries to calm the larger man, “you got shot. Go to the mess hall and decompress before you do anything.”

Disappointed with himself, he nods before going to the mess hall. While they didn’t need to eat inside the simulation, the troops' morale increased once they built a mess hall and started cooking their food.

Looking at the scoreboard, Jackie realizes he’s in the top 100 of the category, and the top 500 overall. “If I want to try the next level I need to reach at least the top 50." He sighs, tired but unbroken, "Well, back to the grind.”

…

As usual, when he doesn’t have a job, Maine and his crew train on the simulator. The Edgerunner would curse his employer if he didn’t pay so well, treat him like a human being, or give him access to real food.

“Alright crew, we will all reach the last point! No one gets left behind!”

“Hell yeah!” The group echos and they advance.

The enemies are based on combat data from various sources. Common cyberpunks for the lowest grunts, professional soldiers for the basic enemies, and Militech mercenaries for the Elites.

“Ahhhh!” A nearby group yells in pain, as Maine’s Crew meets with one of the simulator’s hardest enemies: the Brute.

Initially based on old combat data sold by Adam Smasher, the Wube In.c supercomputers modified their attack pattern to create a new enemy. They are still exceedingly brutal, but the simulator creates several tiers for this super elite enemy.

The lowest tier has the skills of an earlier Adam Smasher but with lower equipment performance. Each enemy of that type still killed several teams of security personnel, with Maine’s crew being the first to defeat the Brutes as a team.

Above the basic Brutes are Elite Brutes, and finally Prophets. Each new iteration has better fighting skills and equipment, making fighting one of them a despairing situation.

Yet, new methods to defeat those enemies were found, usually using artillery from a long distance, or running them over with a main battle tank. While they lack the same impact as the original Adam Smasher, they’re on the level of higher-end full borgs and ACPA Commandos. 

Occasionally, the teams would find a Named Brute, an enemy with combat stats extrapolated from the original Adam Smasher’s combat data, simulated through Wube Inc.’s supercomputers, and then given the company’s chrome and power armor to further simulate an enemy on the level of Adam Smasher. Those super elite monsters usually took Maine’s Crew fighting with Miguel and his subordinates to create the chance for a heavy ordinance from distant teams to put down the creatures.

Maine remembers one piece of advice that Mark gave his group, “The real Adam Smasher is more tactical when fighting,” The Engineer advised  Maine the first time they defeated the Named Brute for the first time, “The best way to defeat the original is to get him unaware, but the opportunity rarely comes. That’s why you need to be prepared for any opportunity.”

"What about you, boss?" Maine asks curiously at Mark, as he considers the man a monster on part with the Arasaka's Executioner.

Unfortunately for Maine, he got a humble “Not enough” as an answer.

…

After surviving the initial invasion, the various open battlefields, urban combat, and defeating enough Brutes, a new scenario has the soldiers delivering a package to the final checkpoint to complete the simulation and save Reach.

The officer had reached the end of the mission, feeling the weight of the sacrifices along the way. He remembers the pain of each death, the expressions of pain of his comrades during the missions, and the realism of the simulation that blended reality with fiction.

The enemies threw everything at him and his team, and he saw more grunts, elites, Brutes, and Elite Brutes than everywhere else. The supplies were scarce and by the end of the mission, resupply became impossible. Yet, after the brave sacrifices of the teams, the officer completes the mission. However, to his horror, the message only alerts the greater federation, giving them tactical data of the enemy they're currently facing, and by sending the message the invading forces become even more fanatic in their attempts at cleansing all life on the planet.

In his HUD, the officer sees the final update of the simulation.

Objective, Survive.

The nameless officer dodges enemy fire, taking cover on the few remaining structures. At first, only the vanguard appears, but soon the rest of the invasion army arrives and he's overwhelmed, lasting almost half an hour until he's ruthlessly gunned down.

This mission has a casualty rate of 100%, with the longest-living survivor remaining for one hour, the survivor being none other than the Engineer himself.

Once the officer perishes and wakes up in the lobby, he screams his frustration away. “What’s the fucking point of the exercise, if we all end up dead in the end anyway?”

To his surprise, someone answers him. “It’s not about winning,” Mark approaches the frustrated recruit, “It’s about your attitude when faced with the inevitable."

The young officer sullenly asks, "What do you mean?"

Sighing, Mark stares ahead in thought. "The current culture works upon a fundamental philosophy 'It's not about saving the world, but saving yourself.' I agree that an individual trying to save the world by himself sounds ridiculous, but an individual can hardly save himself. He needs others, family, and a community, to survive."

"Sounds like Nomad gonk shit to me," the young man bitterly reminds the Engineer.

Mark doesn't disagree, "the Nomads thrived during the darkest period of the country during the Time of Red. It was thanks to them the various settlements managed to survive until today. Do you know why? Because they understood that unit and thinking long term was necessary."

He is still not convinced. "So what, are you selling me that corpo nonsense about them being your family?" To his surprise, the Engineer laughs at the suggestion.

"Hell no! You can't get fired by your family, for one. No, what I meant to say is, don't be a dick to people around you for no reason. We can't change the world meaningfully on our own, but each action we take will influence those next to us, and the next, changing culture and making the future better."

Mark shows the leaderboard with the survival times and the final messages left by those who came this far. The young man reads messages, and something stirs up in his chest.

“Whoever you are, don’t give up."

"Your choices matter, and your struggles matter."

"Your life matters, and your courage will live on with those who will come next.

"Give them hell for me.”

After a few minutes of reading the various messages, Mark points out an empty entry. "You have the option to be a dick with your message, and you saw a few entries like that. You cannot change the nature of the last mission, but you can choose what message you will leave forward."

Mark stretches his back before turning away. "Those that finish the mission have the 'Invasion Mode' unlocked where the various soldiers can push back the invasion and try to reclaim Reach. It's also an endless wave, but the more people come this far, the more help everyone will receive." The Engineer gives the young man a final glance, "We will be waiting for you on the other side."

Once he leaves, the young Man thinks about what to say. He's not a thinker, he's a man of action, but eventually, he finds the right words.

"Sheppard was here. He fought for the future."

Post Chapter Notes

Sorry, I ended up sleeping before I posted the story. I am already working on today's chapters. Hope you enjoy it!