After finally calming CJ and Elvis down, I made my way over to get some food.

  “Tiff, how does this thing work?” I asked as I walked up beside her.

  “It’s an atomized carbon recombination station,” she said. “Carbon atoms are the building blocks for everything living. Anything you consume outside of water was once living. This machine just takes carbon molecules and utilizes a detailed recombination sequence along with other necessary elements to form the food you request.” She shrugged and looked at me, “Pretty simple, really.”

  “Simple?” I asked in amazement. “How is this simple? Even before the drop, Earth never had anything even close to this level of technology! This is amazing!”

  I walked up to the machine and pressed the button for food. I loved fried chicken, and since the drop, I hadn’t had a single piece.

  “4-piece Popeyes fried chicken meal, white meat, spicy with mashed potatoes and gravy on the side,” I said, hoping that I would at least get some decent fried chicken.

  The station buzzed to life. After about 10 seconds, a little box appeared on the shelf under the screen.

  “It’s even in the Popeyes box, I can’t believe this!” I said excitedly.

  The shower on the Blood Hound was great, but this, this was just amazing. I sat down and ate my food. Tiff got something I didn’t recognize, sat across from me, and started eating.

  “Why do you need to eat?” I asked, “Aren’t you, like, a computer?”

  “Not the sort that you are commonly used to,” she explained. “I volunteered for biological existence. After my transition, I spent some time working for the Planetary Defense Force. I was drafted into the guardian program after being identified as a high-value biologic. The guardian program is voluntary, but it is seen as a great honor. Guardians, once drafted, are put through a rigorous training and reconnaissance program. We are also subjected to a quantum cloning process that allows us to operate as two independent forms, though the secondary form has certain limitations. In short, we have biological bodies and the ability to exist in two places at once, but we still require external resources for energy, so we eat.”

  “Well, okay, that works for me,” I said, not wanting to take the conversation further. I was no genius, and we were treading into territory that honestly would go right over my head anyway. After we finished eating, we started making our way toward the VCR. “It’s time to allocate your stat points and test the Havok Bringer armor; then we can sit down and plan with Elvis,” Tiff said.

  “Hey Elvis, can CJ wear one of those Havok Hound drop suits so I can have a sparring partner?” I asked. I wanted to have time to test the Havok Bringer Armor in combat.

  “No need,” Elvis replied, “VCR will provide virtual combatants for captain, much better competition than NUB.”

  I just shook my head, “Okay, thanks. Go ahead and prepare something for me. I’m on my way.”

  CJ joined us as we walked down the Hall toward the VCR. We walked in to see that it was just a square room with black walls.

  “Umm, okay, how do I train here?” I asked, looking around, more than a little disappointed. “There is nothing in this room.”

  “It’s a virtual combat readiness room, Andrew; emphasis on virtual,” Tiff explained. “Elvis will program a combat scenario, and you will play it out. It is virtual, but you will feel the pain of being hit or shot. Your suit will take damage, but the damage will stop short of being fatal. Keep that in mind.”

  “Okay, then, let’s get started. Elvis, run the program,” I said as I walked to the center of the room and started stretching, jumping, and preparing myself.

  Tiff and CJ just walked away and stood near the door.

  “We will use this training to decide what your weakest stats are, so try your best. “Elvis,” Tiff said, looking at the ceiling with a concerning grin.

  “Elvis hear you,” Elvis replied.

  “Make sure you give the good captain a good challenge,” Tiff said.

  As she finished speaking, the room went completely dark, giving me a momentary feeling of vertigo. After a couple of seconds, the room sprang back to life. I watched as the pixelated structures rose from the floor and spread out in front of me as far as I could see. I was in a metropolis-like setting with huge buildings and streets crisscrossing as far as I could see. I walked a few steps forward and noticed that I seemed to be traversing the city.

  “How exactly does this work?” I asked. This room was only about 30 feet across, but this city looks like it goes on for miles.”

  “The floor operates like an omnidirectional treadmill. You haven’t moved from your spot in the center of the room. The floor has intelligent pressure-sensitive sensors that redirect the virtual display based on where you move. Also, in case you are wondering I dumbed that explanation down so you could understand it.” Tiff said.

  “Hah, she said you’re a dummy,” CJ cackled.

  “Cool, it’s like the holo-deck on Star Trek,” I whispered to myself.

  “Don’t use your armor immediately,” Tiff said, now communicating directly through our neural connection. “You only have a few minutes at a time right now, and we need to see what you can do without it. Use the daggers, though; there is no cooldown on those.”

  I stood on an empty intersection in the virtual metropolis, smiling. I looked down at my hands and, focusing on my interface, selected my daggers from my inventory. The daggers immediately appeared in my hands, glowing black flames encompassing the ebony blades. They felt good in my hands, perfectly balanced, almost like an extension of my arm.

  I squeezed the carbon fiber hilts of the daggers in my hands, then spun them to face down. “Okay, let’s break some shit, “I said.

  Immediately, two black metal Mechs rolled around the corner. I looked at the mechs and focused, trying to utilize my identify ability.

  U.C. Battle Mech -- Level 7

  They were approximately 2.5 meters tall, had tank tracks for wheels, and each had two arms on their metal torsos holding giant assault-style rifles. Behind them walked what looked like four infantry-type soldiers in armor similar to the Havok Hound drop suits in the armory.

  U.C. Mech Guard—Level 5 showed above all their heads.

  I glanced at my HUD and confirmed the enemies showed on my mini-map. “I see them, and my HUD has marked them as enemy combatants,” I told Tiff.

  “Good. You need to get used to using all of your abilities. Situational awareness will be your biggest ally. Engage when ready,” Tiff replied.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Immediately, the two mechs began firing at me. I quickly dodged to the right, dust, and debris being scattered into the air in my wake.

  “Speed is definitely much improved. Your strength and dexterity stats are doing their job. Stronger tendons and improved bone density allow you to make those quick bursts look easy.” Tiff said, obviously scrutinizing my every move.

  “Yep,” I grunted in response, paying more attention to the U.C. mechs that were shooting at me. I quickly reached an alleyway and ran toward the other side. The mechs continued firing as chucks of stone and glass rained down from the surrounding buildings. I didn’t really have a plan; I was just moving on instinct. The score marks left on the buildings from the mechs were huge, at least the size of a .50 caliber bullet. It would be bad news if one of those hit me without my armor on. Running down the alley, I realized I could hear footsteps behind me. It was the four mech guards. They had run ahead of the mechs and were on my tail.

  “Damn it, I lost focus on my HUD. How did they get behind me so fast?” I grumbled in frustration.

  “I can’t do anything about that now. Try to get them farther away from the Mechs!” Tiff said, “If you engage them now, the Mechs will be on you before you finish.”

  “I’m trying,” I said, breathing heavily, “I’m going to make one more corner and see if I can take out two.”

  As I rounded the corner of the building on the left side of the alley, I slid to a stop, waiting for the guards to round; in a few seconds, they did.

  “Watch your health gauge once you engage. Be aware of everything,” Tiff said as the guards rounded the corner and began to engage me. As the guards engaged, they took a staggered approach—two on, two off. The first two came at me with boom clubs like the Drill Sergeant from the tutorial carried. I rushed them with the intention of disarming them and using my daggers to execute a killing blow. As I jumped toward them, they both swung in opposite directions.

  Zaaap! I felt the electricity surge through me as the room went dark and reverted to its original layout. My health bar was in the red, blinking as I lay on the ground, grabbing my sides in pain.

  “Aaand, you’re dead,” Tiff said, shrugging and kneeling beside me. “Look, you have to be aware of your enemies and their tactics. You are still just level 4 outside of that armor. Bull rushing two armored combatants isn’t smart, and if you aren’t stronger, you have to be smarter, Andrew. We can revisit the group combat scenario later; I just wanted you to understand that you are not invincible. Elvis, let’s bring the difficulty down for now. Let’s start with one-on-one combat. The captain will need to train in hand-to-hand and armed combat situations, but let’s start with a one-on-one scenario,” she said as she stood up and walked back to the wall beside CJ.

  I stood up and shook the cobwebs from my head. Taking a deep breath I looked to the ceiling, “Let’s do it again, Elvis. Just give me one this time.”

  Looking at my HUD, I noticed that my health gauge was still blinking red. “Hey, my health is really low. Should we wait a little while?”

  “I guess now is as good a time as any to cover your health stims. Elvis, give us a table with an interface,” Tiff said as she and CJ walked toward the center of the room.

  We all sat down at the round table provided by Elvis in the center of the VCR as Tiff started to go over my current stats out loud.

  Name – Andrew Timothy Dawes

  Race – Human

  Level – P-4

  Class – Havok Bringer

  Stats –

  Strength – P4 – 22%

  Intelligence – P4 – 36%

  Dexterity – P4 – 49%

  Defense – P4 – 12%

  “That is where your base stats currently are after the tutorial. You made some pretty good progress, all things considered. The fact that you got through the tutorial without any equipment is rather impressive, but even with your armor, things are going to be considerably more difficult from here on out. We need to focus on training and gaining levels before getting to the level 1 planet. I have an idea for that we can discuss later. For now, let’s talk about stims,” Tiff said, “I need you to equip your armor. We can get back to unarmored combat later.”

  “Elvis, take the table away, “Tiff said. “Go ahead and equip the armor, Andrew.”

  I mentally equipped the Havok Bringer armor and felt the surge as it enveloped my body.

  “That is going to take some getting used to,” I said. “Okay, what now?”

  “You should have access to health stims in your armor. Most battle suits have them built in. Look for an icon on your HUD,” Tiff replied.

  Sure enough, as I studied the interface that my armor had slightly altered, I saw a small cross beside my health bar with three bars.

  “I think I see something; it looks like I have three uses,” I said.

  “Good, now select it and use it,” Tiff said.

  I selected the health stim, and one of the bars went away. I felt like two needles pressed into each side of my neck, and I heard a small hissing noise. I felt a warm sensation flow from the injection point and make its way through my entire body. I felt the pain in my side dissipate, and the fuzziness in my head went away. Immediately, my health topped off.

  New Skill unlocked – Make me feel good, Daddy!

  Discover and utilize your armor’s built-in health stim deliver system. By order of the Master System AI, this skill must be activated using a verbal command.

  “Well, that is convenient,” I said as the stim did its job. I got a message saying I unlocked a new skill called “Make me feel good… Daddy? “It also says that Randi made a rule that I have to activate the skill by verbal command. Does that mean I just say health stim or something to activate it?”

  “That is odd. The Master System AI is capable of placing security features on skills, especially for newer participants, but stims are fairly standard. I would say this is more than likely a byproduct of the feud between the two of you. I am afraid you will have to say the name of the skill to activate it,” Tiff replied with a grimace.

  “So, you are telling me that every time my life is in danger, and I am nearly dead, I will have to say, make me feel good, Daddy, to get a health stim?

  CJ slapped his knee and crowed with laughter, “I kinda like this, Randi. It seems like he is trying to make you his bitch, bro!”

  “I am afraid that is the case for now. It may change with level progression, but I would expect more retaliatory behavior from the Master System AI based on the interactions you have already had,” Tiff said.

  I looked up at the overhead, “I swear I will not stop until the universe knows you as Randi. There will be a reckoning, Randi. You can count on that!”

  “Getting back to the task at hand. You have three health stims as of now. As the armor upgrades, you may have access to more, but you will need to conserve them. Your intelligence stat will help them replenish more quickly and will allow them to refill more of your health as your master level grows, so it is important to make sure you focus on increasing your intelligence stat. For now, it seems like you are okay. I am more concerned with the amount of time that you can equip the armor. A time limit is not ideal in a combat situation, so I need you to know exactly how long you can keep the armor equipped.”

  Tiff walked back to the door. “Elvis, initiate one-on-one combat, hand to hand, for now; let’s see what that armor can really do.”

  A Level 5 Mech Guard materialized in the center of the room in front of me. There was no change in scenery this time, just a one-on-one fight in the empty black room. Immediately, the Mech Guard swung his baton at me with his right arm, aiming for my head. It was like the armor improved every reflex, and I easily moved my head back out of the path of the baton as it missed by an inch.

  The guard stepped toward me and started a backswing, swinging from left to right. I raised my right arm to block the baton and absorbed the blow. I wanted to see what kind of damage this armor could take. As the baton made contact, I saw the skill activate, and the electricity came to life. I felt it; it was uncomfortable, but my health bar only dipped a small amount. I smiled at the realization.

  “I think I’m going to like this armor,” I said as I clenched my fist and went to work. I unleashed a combo of punches to the guard’s body. Left, right, right again; as he staggered, he tried to swing the club at me once more with an overhand right. I moved under his swing and around his body. Now behind him, I extended my arms, equipped my daggers, and shoved them into the guard under each arm. The daggers, now fully inside the guard, started pulsing as a countdown populated on my HUD:

  3…

  2…

  1…

  They were draining him from the inside, and at the three-second mark, the guard completely imploded into nothing.

  “Jesus!” I said, backing away from the implosion. “Those are insane!”

  “There will be a level cap on those. You won’t be able to go just stab them into any boss and get an easy kill,” Tiff said. “They are still very powerful, but that three-second requirement will also be tough. For now, the draining effect on cuts will be more valuable in battle.”

  As Tiff walked back toward me, my armor disappeared.

  “Well, 5 minutes are up,” I said, shrugging. “Gotta remember not to equip my armor for conversations.”

  “Let’s go to the bridge and discuss next steps. I have a feeling you will have plenty of time for training over the next few weeks, and we really need to figure out our next steps,” Tiff said.

  “Elvis need to activate Warp Field Generator?” Elvis asked.

  “Warp Field Generator? What the…This ship has a Warp Drive?” I asked in amazement.

  “Pretty standard equipment, Andrew, but hey, at least it’s not a door that has you in awe this time!” Tiff smiled and walked toward the bridge.