Chapter 9

Inside the preparations room I looked around the weapon sections. I ignored the other side of the walls which were lined up with every single type of gun known and a box of rubber bullets and magazines in the corner.

I was busy looking through the melee weapons section. I inspected many of the swords on the shelves and held them in my hand and swung it around. None of them had the feel I was looking for.

I threw the sword onto the ground along with the other dull swords I inspected. I became frustrated. I knew that none of the swords could replicate the sword I owned, but I was at least looking for one that seemed even slightly similar.

The speakers in the room spoke.

"Five minutes left before preparations are done"

I sighed. I went back towards the pile of swords on the ground and picked out the one that at least had a similar style as mine. I then went to the armour section in the room and picked up a light metal black armour. I then waited in anticipation for the next few minutes as I thought about what I was going to do.

"Ren Vincent, please step into the designated area"

I stepped forward into the arena and went into the middle of the square.

"Daisy Young, please step into the designated area"

The woman on the other side of the arena was decked out in a heavy suit of armour. She wore a Spartan helmet and held a huge shield on her right hand that was almost three times her size. On her left hand she wielded a long chained balled mace.

"Three. Two. One. Begin!"

I jogged towards the center keeping my body in a slight crouched stance and keeping my sword beside my hip. My opponent walked towards me and was slowly rotating her mace around in a circle.

I continued to analyze her movements. It seemed she was slow. The fact that she wore heavy armour meant that she knew she needed to take some hits in order to deal damage. She wouldn't waste her energy chasing after me if she knows I'm the one that will go on the offensive.

I propell my legs forward and leave small dust clouds behind me.

The woman spun her mace above her head and started building up momentum before releasing the mace and throwing it at me.

I barrel rolled to the side to avoid a direct hit.

*TWANG

The sound of metal on metal slamming against the ground and scraping came next.

The woman had already started to retrieve her mace back and was spinning it around getting ready to launch it towards me again.

Running near the ground I ran a circle around her. She hurled the ball at me. Dodging her attack I run diagonally towards her.

The woman turned her body away from me and ran to her left side pulling the handle of her mace along with her.

Getting ready to lunge at the woman, I hear the sound of metal gripping tightly behind me. Turning my head to the side, I immediately drop to the floor.

If I had been one second slower, I would have eaten a face full of metal.

The woman had now begun to spin in a circle. I could have tried attacking her armour if it hadn't been for her huge shield. I decided it was best to get out of her range before she spun so fast that I could no longer dodge the spinning ball.

I didn't know what impressed me more. The fact that she had a very short figure and was able to wield something that looked incredibly heavy or the fact that a senior woman was able to still move fairly fast. Either way she was not to be underestimated.

Out of her range, I waited until she stopped her momentum from spinning. I once again ran at her. Dodging her first attack with ease I continued to run at her.

Hearing the same gripping metal behind me, I rolled to the opposite direction of where she turned.

I prepare for her third strike as she launches the ball towards me. Almost within her range I barely dodge her flying ball of death.

*Shink

I parried the ball with my sword at the last second which sent the ball slightly off course. Pushing all my strength on my left foot, I jumped towards the woman stretching my arms out to stab her armour.

*Clang

She blocks my stab with her huge shield and I try to maneuver around her and attack. Defending against multiple hacks and slashes from me, I jump towards her shield and propel myself backwards into the air.

My opportunity to attack disappeared and I needed to come up with a different plan if I wanted to defeat her.

I land onto the ground with both my feet and watch her from a distance. She glared at me and if she seemed tired from carrying such heavy weapons and armour, she showed zero signs of it.

Looking at the sword in my hand, I notice a slight chip on the top half of my sword. If I recall, the sword must have been chipped when I parried the metal ball.

Dodging an attack from her I continue to think of a plan.

I needed to attack her when she couldn't use either the mace or shield. Breaking or taking her mace isn't an option because I'd lose in a battle of strength against her. That meant I only had one option.

I once again sprint towards her keeping my center of gravity low to the ground. Dodging the first launch I then repeat my actions and sprint diagonally towards her as she turns her entire body and flings herself getting ready to spin in a circle once again.

As the ball began to spin, I made sure i'm within range of the ball as it reached me. I jump into the air and parry the metal ball striking downwards with speed and strength. My sword breaks in half and the ball scraps the metal floor as it spins around losing a bit of speed, but unable to stop, I calculate my next action.

Jumping into the air I successfully landed onto the metal ball as it flung itself at a great speed. Immediately I put just as much strength into my feet as I did with my strike and propel myself forward high into the air.

The woman, still unable to stop herself from her momentum, spun as she tried to slow herself down. By the time she would stop I would have already landed a blow on her and made her surrender.

I would use the force from coming down to knock the shield off her hand and then bring my broken sword in between her eyes forcing her to surrender.

I prepared my strike ready for the end of the battle when suddenly the woman cried out and made a strange sound.

It felt like I lost all feeling and control of my body for a couple seconds. I could barely hold the grip of my sword as I fell down.

On the way down I was smacked by her shield which she had thrown at me and right after a metal ball came barreling its way towards me and hitting me right in the chest.

*THUD

I crash into the ground and lay there.

Gasping for breath my lungs burned and felt like they were being poked by something sharp. That attack had definitely broken the bones on my ribcage. I let out weak groans and sounds as I tried to suck in what little air my lungs could breathe in as blood started to form inside my mouth.

I just hoped that the woman wouldn't send another attack towards me and used my remaining energy to slowly put both my arms up in surrender.

"Cease all fire! Daisy Young is the winner! Reason. Surrender"

Those were the last words I heard before I gurgled and spit a pool of blood onto the ground and passed out.

~

"Welcome back. I don't even know how you're alive, but shit that means those drugs really are the real deal."

My vision was blurry and the ceiling lights blinded my sight, but from the familiar voice I knew that Kim was the one speaking to me.

"Shit you got your ass handed to you. They said you broke all the bones in your ribcage and broke your leg. You would've been crippled, but since you already signed the paper, they were allowed to give you the drug enhancements."

"How long was I passed out?"

My voice was dry and it hurt to swallow my saliva. My eyes slowly adjusted to the lighting.

"About two weeks."

Two weeks huh. I slowly sat up from my bed and looked around. I was in one of the stalls in the front of the infirmary.

The look on Kim's face changed from worry and relief to furrowed.

"You son of a bitch, you said that she wasn't cute"

"What?" I rubbed my head still trying to get my bearings straight. "

"Elizabeth, from the cafeteria? That ring a bell for ya?"

"Jesus Kim, It hasn't even been five minutes since I woke up and for your information, I never said she wasn't cute?

My eyes had now adjusted and could clearly see Kim fully laying back on the chair with his shoes propped up on the bed.

"Right. She was alright"

He raised both hands and quoted on the word 'alright'

Changing the subject to a more important matter I asked him something else.

"So who won the little team tournament?"

"It was none other than the very woman who had placed you here"

"Thanks for answering smartass"

"No problem"

He grinned widely content with himself with his remark. Then he said something else that made my ears perk up.

"You know what's weird, even though she won she said she doesn't want to be leader since she says she isn't someone that can lead, she suggested that we can decide on a leader after we defeat the first meteorite and that someone more suitable may arise after the situation"

It looks like I'll still be able to take the lead later on. A small smile formed on my lips and then a sudden pain appeared from my abdomen.

I let out a groan of pain and then Kim picked up a bottle of tablets and a magenta liquid substance in a vial from the desktop beside me.

"Here, take some painkillers. The scientists said you've apparently slept through the most harsh parts of the recovery stage as you regrow and repair your broken bones, but you'll still be able to feel it."

I take the tablets and shove them into my mouth. Kim hands me a glass of water and I gulp it down.

He then passes my the strange vial in his hand

"And what's this?"

"That is the drug enhancement that we're all taking. We need to drink them every 8 hours every single day for two weeks for the drugs to work and today is the last day to take the drugs. After the first couple of days they fed you through a tube and then I told them that I could do it for you"

"Thanks for giving my unconscious body some mysterious substance for two weeks straight"

"Well when you put it that way… You're welcome"

He grinned once again. This guy…

As the purple liquid oozed down my throat I was surprised by the lack of taste. It was as if I was drinking just a slightly thicker texture of water.

"We'll since you're actually awake for once and responding then you need to take the substance again at 4:00 and at midnight and then we'll be done. I'll come back to get you the vials since you'll just be laying in bed all day"

He leaned on the metal frame of the bed.

"Is there anything you need before I head out?

"No I'll just think for awhile and gather my thoughts"

"Alright, but if you need anything from me just call the nurse and tell them to come get me.

I wave him goodbye as he exits the room.

I sat on my bed and thought for a long moment. Looking back on my fight with Daisy it should have been that I won, but all of a sudden It wasn't that I lost concentration for a second, but it was like I had lost all feeling in my muscles and they wouldn't respond.

Her scream I thought. That was it! There was no other reason that could explain the difference. She attacked as usual but it was when she opened her mouth and let out a weird sound that I felt my consciousness falter.

I was still deep in thought when someone else sat down beside me.

"Nice to know you haven't died all of a sudden"

I look to my right with a surprised look on my face.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of thee 'Midnight Assassin' to come visit my humble abode in the Infirmary? "

"Oh please, I came to see Samantha since she works in the infirmary now. It just so happens that I saw you awake and decided to say hi"

"Well hello then"

She paused before she said hi back.

"Not going to say I'm not bragging because I am, but only my second month in the military and I'm already a Senior Soldier. Sooner or later I'll become a Commanding Soldier and maybe even be higher ranking than you"

I laugh at her statement and I flinch slightly from the sudden jolt of pain on my side.

"Oww… Commanding Soldier, I can see. However If you're going to command me you're gonna have to take on the role of admiral.

"What are you talking about there's also Commanding Captain before the admiral" she jeered.

"Right…"

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to tell her that I'd be in a higher ranking than even a Commanding Captain, however I didn't want to risk anything as I recalled the image of Kim's face during the previous meeting.

"Anyways how are you feeling? Kim told me you were injured in battle, but that'd you'd live"

My left eyebrow raised with slight curiosity.

"Oh you've met Kim already. How'd you guys meet?"

"I met Kim just about two weeks ago. I was visiting Samantha who was being switched out from a combat soldier into a medic nurse and Kim made quite a scene about making sure that you were being properly monitored and taken care of and I noticed it was you in the bed. Naturally I came over and wanted to know what happened and we then introduced each other. He's such a sweet guy"

"Yeah he sure is"

I made a mental note to myself that I needed to properly thank Kim.

"He also was the one who helped me get promoted to a Senior Soldier. I didn't know that you needed to get sponsored to move up in the ranks."

"Yeah you needed someone credible and willing to sponsor back because usually if someone you sponsor does something bad or poorly it also reflects upon the person that sponsors the person"

"I see. Well since you and Kim are best friends could you tell me what he likes"

I was taken aback by her words for some reason.

"What for?"

"I want to thank him, but I don't wanna ask him what he wants"

"I see how it is. You wanna use me so you can get closer to him" I say jokingly.

I made a snicker to let her know I'm teasing, but I couldn't understand why hearing her say those words made me envious.

"Don't get it twisted I just want to thank him for sponsoring me and… For helping you out as well"

"I see. Well Kim really likes video games. There's this game he always plays and if I recall, he talked about the next series of 'Rock Invaders' that's coming out soon"

"Wait, you're serious, I never heard him talk about video games. So his favourite video game is 'Rock Invaders' aka the alien takeover series right?"

She gave a dumbfounded expression.

"I know right. Stupid. Anyways its suppose to release this month and-"

"You did not just say Rock Invaders is stupid"

She stood up from the bed and held her hips to the side and puffed out.

"Not you too. We're fighting aliens for god's sake why would you wanna do the same thing in a video game as in real life"

"Because that game is single handedly the best game mechanical wise that it's animations and movement is so precise if you know the controls it's like your the character themselves and not only that, but the story is so immersive and interesting with so many things to do that of all the games I've ever played, and I've played a lot, 'Rock Invaders' is my number two favourite video game of all time"

"What's number one then?"

She pauses and then says that it's better to experience it blindly so she'll tell me another time. She then waves goodbye and I rest my head on top of my pillow.

Staring at the ceiling and listening to the silence and occasional groans of pain from other patients, the drugs I took were starting to take effect on my body and a heavy weight loomed over my eyes as I drifted off to sleep.

~

"Ren wake up"

"Mmhhh"

I blink several times and Kim stands over me.

"Time to take the substance"

He hands over the purple liquid that looked exactly like earlier and I chug it down whole.

He hands me a tray of food. Marinated spaghetti with pesto on the top and some garlic bread. Picking up the fork I scarf down on a piece of bread first.

"So I heard that you sponsored Eli"

"You mean Elizabeth? Yeah I did"

"Can I ask why?"

I was interested in Kim's response because during our time as Senior and Commanding soldiers there were many who asked us to sponsor them and helped them get promoted and yet neither me nor Kim agreed to anyone.

"I figured that she was the one"

I stopped eating the spaghetti mid way and some of the noodles hung over my mouth as I talked.

"The one what?"

I scanned his eyes trying to read his thoughts and the meaning behind his words.

"The one who you took an interest in. I've noticed that you were acting… different a week before you were in a coma"

"Different how?"

"Oh I don't know, let's see. First when you talked about the cafe, your tone and body language was completely different not to mention that You don't tend to be excited much about anything in general and when I went to the infirmary after you ditched lunch a couple days after, I saw you talking to her. Not to mention that when we held a meeting you seemed eager to have someone else join the team. After she came up to me I found out that you basically helped her and she survived a Guardian Echo from just basic military training."

"She's a quick learner" I reply

"I won't doubt you on that, but she isn't experienced enough to suddenly jump past Commanding Soldiers, she'd get slaughtered. It's not like we can turn back time, if any one of us make a fatal mistake we're done for, hell if it weren't for these drugs, you'd be spoon fed through a tube for the rest of your life"

"Thanks for the reminder"

Kim pulls out a candy bar and rips it open before munching on it.

"I've been training her the past couple of days in close combat and she's almost able to kick my ass"

"Despite all that, you don't think she can handle her own?"

"I won't disagree, but it's not like you're the leader of the team and can decide who the next member will be. The Admiral gave us highly classified documents on the upcoming mission as well as what the monsters look like."

He points at a stack of papers on the bedside desk.

"Take a look at them when you can"

Me and Kim talk casually and he informs me of what's been happening during the past two weeks since I've been out. Keeping me company for the next several hours and having dinner with me, he heads back to the dormitories.

Now that I was left to my own thoughts once again, I decided to look into the papers Kim gave me.

Reading through the rest of the reports there was one particular report that I couldn't stop reading over and over.

It was a highly classified mission that was meant to obtain a piece of the meteorite. They were only meant to engage and distract the enemy while the others would break a piece of the meteorite and retreat.

The image of a faceless creature with an exposed thick skull. It had eight legs and walked upright. It had two arms. A caution was placed under the image in bigger text.

SENSITIVE TO SOUND

The mission is deemed a success, but looking through the names of the lists of members in the mission every single one of them was crossed out with a KIA marked beside. Some of the names I even recognized as old Commanding Captains that were said to have retired from the army.

Reaching the bottom of the list there was one name that wasn't sketched out.

Daphne Taylor - Successful extraction of Meteorite

I still considered the woman a cold brute, but reading the report multiple times really gave me a different perspective of her. If I recall, she once mentioned spending time with some of the retired commanding captains during her vacations.

Continuing through the reports, I had caught up to the details of Admiral Laura creating the team and everyone in it. Including pictures of what we were facing.

Most of the details were from sighting reports of the area. More than two dozen Guardian Echos patrolled the area and about seven Echos that looked similar to regular Echos, but only bigger and beefier and judging from their behavior it seemed those variants were higher up in the hierarchy than Guardian Echos. They were then classified as 'Overseers' as they rarely ever wandered far from the Meteorite.

Looking at the pictures displayed on the paper it was obvious that these two were not like the others. The shorter one looked like a lizard with half of its face ripped off. Its snout stretches out and stands tall with lanky arms and legs and a tail and body that looks skinny and malnourished. Its thin rib cage was defined and the bumps on its back and legs protrude making it visible. It has three eyes behind its back and thin strands of black hair on the back of its head.

Flipping to the next couple of pages the second monster showed a huge stained red collar around its neck with two eyes and horns that protrude up into the sky. It looked to have beefy muscles and huge fists. Wearing a huge old linen cloth and armor from the waist down. Both its hands are cuffed by chains latched together. Its back was covered by dark hollow holes.

The bigger monster looked like a hybrid of a huge ogre and a minotaur. These beasts were nothing similar to the Echos we'd had fought over the years. They had zero resemblance to the aliens. They were more like mythological creatures and abominations that only one could try to imagine.

It was now midnight and I took the vial that lay on the desktop. Opening it, I gulp it down. Looking back to the papers I continued reading. Reading the reports and a little background of everyone else on the team my eyes slowly became tired. I skimmed some of the details, but I understood the most important parts.

The mission was to wipe out the surrounding area of the Meteorite and place the devices that would destroy and blow up the rock. The time the mission would take place was etched at the bottom left side of the page.

July / 01 / 2060

That's about two weeks from now.