Gen: LOCK 2
Chapter 1
A Razor flew across white mountains and green forests. It appeared to be heading towards the Anvil, the Vanguard's base of operations in North America. The passengers were quite excited, since they didn't really know where they were going.
The passengers themselves were a colorful lot. There was a young man with brown hair and black glasses, looking out the window. He had orange jacket with a plain white shirt. He also had sneakers and khaki pants on. This young man was Oliver Hughes. Beside him was a young woman. She had clear white hair with one pink streak in her ponytail. She was wearing a white dress with a pink vest on. Her legs were crossed with her cleats on full display. She was reading a book right now, so she wasn't really paying attention. This woman was Charlotte Graham. On Oliver's other side, was a buff man, with a visible scar across his left eye. He was calmly eating an apple, cleaning his lips a bit. He had a black jacket on with a grey tank top. He had some training pants on with some boots on. This was Eero Laine.
On the other side of them, sat two more passengers. One was asleep, but had a katana-like sword on his back. He had his black hair tied up. He was wearing black shirt with a brown jacket over it. His head was drooping to the side, as he was asleep. This man was Hyun-Woo Park. The young woman beside him was dressed very fancily. She had a small hat on her tan chocolate hair, and was wearing some black pants. She was also wearing some silver high heels. This was Eva Guillard.
"Wow…" Oliver said in awe, his British accent coming through. "Now that's a big cairn."
Oliver continued looking out, but Charlotte replied to that.
"You mean a bunch of rocks?" She replied in her Aussie accent.
"Well, yeah." Oliver responded. "But I've never seen them so high up before. I've only seen them from the bottom when riding on carriages."
"Oh, a boy from the ground." Eva chuckled, her French accent coming through. "How cute."
Oliver turned her head back to Eva, sitting back down on his seat.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked.
"Oh, pardon. I didn't mean that as an insult." Eva replied. "I just meant that as an observation."
Oliver raised an eyebrow. He crossed his arms. He noticed her rather fancy getup.
"You're dressed to the nights, aren't you?" Oliver asked. "What's the occasion?"
Eva looked confused, by then she realized that Oliver was commenting on her outfit. Adjusting her hat, she sat up a bit.
"Well, this is just my usual attire." Eva admitted. "I have gained a bit of a… shall we say… fame from France."
"We've heard the stories." Eero spoke up, his Finnish accent muffled by his
Oliver, Eva, and Eva quickly turned their attention to Eero, who bit into his apple one more time before continuing.
"You're the infamous Argent Noir, no?" He said. "The Polity must have a good reason for recruiting someone like you."
Eva's eyes hardened at that remark, clearly being offended by it. She had heard things like this before. But since she had revealed her identity because of this arrangement, she hoped to start new with these new people that she was going to be with for a while.
"While I do take offense to that, monsieur." She said. "I don't want that to be the only thing that defines me."
Eero just continued eating his apple. Charlotte closed her book and saw the situation happening.
"Please." She said calmly. "General Laine. Whatever Eva may have done in the past, we're on the same side."
"I'm very aware of that fact, Ms. Graham." Eero replied, finishing his apple.
When Eero was done with his apple, he sat up and smiled. It was a very proud and sincere smile, so much so that Eva's feeling of being offended dissipated.
"I apologize if I offended you." Eero chuckled. "I'm just pointing out some facts."
Eva then realized what Eero was saying. She sighed, relieved that her past won't be an issue.
"Oh, please don't." She assured. "I'm used to it. At least you weren't rude."
After that, Hyun-Woo accidentally bumped into her. He was startled as he woke up, rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, sorry." He apologized in Korean.
Eva's MR overlay quickly translated what Hyun-Woo was saying.
"Did we arrive?" He asked.
(TRANSLATION: (FR) Sommes-nous arrives? (ENG) Did we arrive?)
Oliver quickly looked out the window of the Razor when Hyun-Woo asked that. As he looked out, the Anvil came into view, its rugged metallic exterior reflecting the rising sun.
"Seems like it." He smiled, looking out to see some kind of structure embedded in some rock formations.
The Razor began to make its slow approach towards the Anvil. Standing by its helipad was Dr. Rufus Weller of the ESU, with Chase, Kazu, Yasamin, Valentina, Cammie and Caliban behind him. They were very excited.
"New recruits… this is kind of exciting!" Cammie exclaimed, her mechanical ears moving around. "To think more like us would be out there…"
"Well, while we were busy training you for the program, that didn't mean I wasn't looking for more recruits." Dr. Weller chuckled. "You will be looking after them."
The members were a little intimidated when Dr. Weller said that. On top of their normal training, to look after new recruits would be a lot more work.
"Let's hope there's no Union spy this time." Valentina commented. "We don't need something like that."
Kazu and Chase chuckled, but Yaz quickly shut them up when the Razor hovered just above its landing pad before finally touching down on the pavement. The Razor opened its passenger doors to reveal its five passengers. Once the door was fully opened, they disembarked from the Razor, carrying their luggage. Dr. Weller greeted them warmly.
"Mr. Hughes! Mr. Park! Ms. Graham! Mr. Laine! Madame Guillard!" He beamed. "Welcome to the Anvil! So nice to finally meet you all in person!"
A Vanguard soldier approached the five passengers and quickly took a picture of them. Oliver winced at the flash when his photo was taken.
"What a way to say hello." He complained.
"That's nothing, kid." Chase smiled. "Just wait until what's next."
"Is… that supposed to be a… joke?" Oliver asked, a little timid.
"You'd wish, kid." Kazu chuckled, crossing his arms. "Caliban will store your gear in your rooms."
In response, the seven-foot-tall robot grabbed hold of all of their luggage before setting off into the base. The new arrivals then looked around the base. And once the Vanguard soldier finished taking their ID photos, Dr. Weller stepped forward.
"So… what now?" Charlotte asked.
"Now, it's time to put you lassies into shape." Cammie said cheekily. "Let's get moving."
"Now, now, Miss MacCloud." Dr. Weller interrupted. "Let's do this slowly. We wouldn't want to overwhelm our new friends, now do we?"
"What are you talking about?" Eva asked. "Weren't we here for some sort of 'scientific research'?"
"Oh, yes you are." Dr. Weller smiled. "But there is one more test you all must pass. The senior members of the program will help you through all of the steps. I'll meet you all very shortly!"
Dr. Weller walked into the base, leaving his recruits with the new arrivals. Everyone exchanged greetings as they began to move into the base.
Oliver walked next to Cammie. He had a small blush on his face as he would often take small glances at her face. Cammie noticed this, and Oliver quickly shot his face the other way, even covering his face with one of his hands.
"Oi." She called. "You doing alright?"
"U-uh, yes." Oliver stammered. "Just… a li-li-little overwhelmed."
Cammie just looked at Oliver curiously, her ears pointing to the side. Oliver continued to look away, still trying to cover up his blush. Valentina saw this, and found it rather adorable.
"O bozhe…" She chuckled, quickly turning to Eva. "It would appear the young man has been hit with cupid."
"It would appear so." Eva agreed, noting Oliver's stammering.
The two chuckled quietly amongst themselves. The others seemed to be getting along just fine as well. Eero and Kazu were exchanging some hearty stories of their own experiences, while Charlotte and Yaz were discussing amongst themselves about current events. Chase was leading the gang with Hyun-Woo beside him. Hyun-Woo then noticed something.
"Wait, you." He started, scanning Chase from top to bottom. "You're not really here, are you?"
Chase knew what Hyun-Woo was talking about. He sighed and just replied, "Yeah."
"Well, where are you, now?" Hyun-Woo asked. "Normally people I'd like to meet and trust are in person."
Chase bit his lip. He couldn't really tell the new guy about his current condition, especially now. So, he tried to soften the blow as much as possible.
"Tell you what, man." He replied. "I'll let you know once you get suited up."
With that, Chase pixelated away in hexagons, leaving Hyun-Woo a bit confused, but more determined to find out what's going on.
A little while later, all of the new recruits found themselves putting on their bodysuits in the locker room. They were putting on what looked like body suits. They were colored to each of them respectively, with dark gray colored through their arms and lower legs. Eero's was black, Eva's was silver, Charlotte's was pink, Hyun-Woo's is brown, and Oliver's was orange. The body, thigh, and upper arm portions were colored black, and the suits all had one triangle shaped LED on this torso. They were quite intrigued by what they were wearing, to say the least.
"Can't say I've ever had to wear something like this before." Charlotte admitted, looking at her body, now being shown through the pink body suit she was wearing.
"Dunno if this fits me or not…" Hyun-Woo complained, flexing his legs after putting on his brown body suit.
Eva and Eero had similar reactions to wearing their new body suits, while Oliver just amazed by the suit. He was just very interested.
"Cool…" He muttered, looking at the suit. "What is this? Some kind of new body armor?"
Just then, the first gen:LOCK members entered the locker room, wearing similar body suits, only difference being their colors being different.
"Just put them on, kid." Kazu sighed. "We'll explain as we go."
Once everyone had put on their body suits, they went down to the mess hall, where they waited for Dr. Weller to call them in. As they waited, they decided to tell stories to pass the time.
"So, what is this about a Union spy here?" Eva asked, crossing her legs.
"Oh, yes." Yaz replied. "There was a spy that infiltrated here a while ago. Ironically, it was around this time that the spy was revealed."
Everyone quickly became alert, darting their eyes to the door, just in case any soldiers came out of there.
"Don't fret, everyone." Cammie assured. "If there was a Union spy, this time, we'd be ready to fight."
Just as she said that, Chase materialized into the room. It startled a couple people, mainly Oliver, as he appeared right in front of the young man.
"Whoa!" He cried, stumbling. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry." Chase said. "Yaz. The doc's ready."
"Alright, everyone." Yaz called, getting up from her seat. "Let's move."
Everyone sat up from their seats and moved towards the elevator. They rode it down to the bottom, where they walked a bit more until they reached a huge circular lab with pods scattered around a big central computer. At those computers, was Caliban, and Dr. Weller, who turned around to welcome his new guests.
"Ah, here they are!" He smiled, standing up from his seat. "Welcome! Welcome!"
Everyone got situated in this new location, while Charlotte took a keen interest in something. She looked behind the huge computers, but she was interrupted as Dr. Weller spoke.
"Now that you're all here, I guess introductions are in order." He stated. "I am Dr. Rufus Weller of the ESU. And the robot behind you is my assistant, Caliban."
The robot stopped working and turned around to wave. Afterwards, it quickly went back to work. Dr. Weller then gestured to the other members, prompting them to introduce themselves.
"Cameron. But my friends call me Cammie."
"Call me Kazu."
"Valentina."
"Yasamin. But you can call me Yaz."
"Call me Chase."
With the first members now being introduced, the other members quickly exchanged their names. With introductions now done, Dr. Weller moved to the next step.
"Now, I suppose I told you what you are all here for." He explained. "You five are another group of remarkable people that are capable of achieving greatness."
Everyone raised their eyebrows. Dr. Weller raised his glasses before continuing.
"We are at the dawn of a new age. We have achieved technology that allows one to transfer his or her mind through an electronic mainframe. It is something that we call… gen:LOCK."
The other gen:LOCK members' eyes widened at that. Still, they were a little uncertain about this tech.
"Our minds… through an electronic mainframe?" Eero repeated. "And you say we are capable of this?"
"Yes." Dr. Weller responded. "Chase's team, or as officially referred to as gen:LOCK One, are the first five people in the entire globe that are capable of this. You five are the next group."
Oliver, Eero, Hyun-Woo, Eva, and Charlotte quickly looked at each other before looking back at the doctor. Hyun-Woo spoke up before anyone else could.
"Judging by how you're phrasing it, it would seem that your technology was never developed for this war." He commented. "Won't we be treated as just weapons by the Polity?"
Dr. Weller paused at this question. Hyun-Woo wasn't wrong. He never intended for gen: LOCK to be used as a weapon of warfare. But, since the war with the Union began, and the Polity was getting swept, he had no choice but to offer his research for the war.
"…yes." He answered after pausing for a bit. "But I assure you. No upstart will be demanding things out of you."
The new recruits were still a little bit uncertain. They do know the things that the Union was capable of doing and they've only increased their aggression ever since the Battle of New York.
"As anyone died using this technology by chance?" Charlotte asked, crossing her arms.
Everyone except Chase quickly looked at each other alarmed. While it had been a while ago, they do remember the imposter Sinclair getting his head fried when he tried to use gen: LOCK. Chase looked confused, but he quickly realized what was going on.
"I'll take that silence as a yes." She conceded, grabbing a chair and sitting down.
"Uh… that's a wee bit disconcerting." Oliver admitted, rubbing his arm.
Everyone became quickly wary and timid, getting de-energized at the atmosphere in the lab got very sterile. Cammie and Kazu quickly stepped into lighten things up.
"Hey." Kazu started. "If it's any consolation, when it works, it'll be awesome."
"Yea." Cammie added. "Why don't we give them a little demonstration, if that'll help?"
Dr. Weller quickly snapped his fingers, and turning around to the screens.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" He said. "Time to upload!"
Chase disappeared in hexagons, while everyone else walked towards their pods.
"Where do we set up doctor?" Yaz asked. "Are we setting up by hanger 2 again?"
"It's such a beautiful day; I don't see why not." Dr. Weller replied. "Set up the playground for our new friends."
One by one, Yaz and the others went into their pods. And while everyone immediately closed their eyes, Yaz quickly swiped across her pod to contact the hanger.
"Anvil Ground, this is ESU2. gen:LOCK One is waking up, taxiing to Staging Area One." She announced.
"gen: LOCK One. Anvil Ground, clear taxi, pull that 2-5 right for landing traffic." The operator responded.
"Taxi and hold. gen: LOCK One." Yaz concluded.
She looked to the other pods, where Kazu, Valentina, and Cammie were laying down in, and gave them a thumbs-up before laying down in her own pod. Once they were all situated, they closed their eyes, and uploaded.
Dr. Weller and Caliban oversaw the whole process from their computers. He motioned the new recruits over to one of the screens. Everyone turned their attention there, where it showed five white mecha waking up and walking away. The blue one, in particular, looked at the screen and saluted with two fingers.
"Well?" Dr. Weller smiled. "What do you think?"
Everyone didn't respond. They were too stunned to really figure out what was happening. Oliver spoke up to break the silence.
"That's… uh… what in the blazes that?" He asked.
One by one, everyone began to regain their speech to start talking all at once.
"Mecha?" Hyun-Woo asked.
"Are they all controlling those… from here?" Eva asked.
Dr. Weller raised his glasses again, satisfied with the reactions.
"In a manner of speaking, yes." He explained. "Their minds have been transferred to the cyber-brain inside their Holons."
Charlotte got confused again.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked. "From a medical standpoint, turning your brainwaves into digitized code…"
"I assure you, Ms. Graham. Everything will be explained soon." Dr. Weller replied.
He would've continued on if Cammie from the hanger.
"Oi, doctor!" She called. "Is anyone coming or what?"
Dr. Weller spun on his chair to face all of his new recruits. He had a rather excited look on his face.
"Any volunteers?" He chided.
It didn't seem to work. Everyone was still feeling anxious about this.
"Hesitancy. Understandable." He sighed. "I know this is a lot to take in all at once, but remember, you have nothing to worry about. All five of you are compatible with gen:LOCK."
Even with that, everyone was still hesitant. But, after a few tense seconds of silence, Oliver slowly raised his hand.
"I'll do it." He said bravely.
"Brave and bold, young man." Dr. Weller commended. "Caliban, if you could escort Mr. Hughes over to Destination Unit 6, if you'd please?"
Dr. Weller quickly turned back to computers as Caliban helped Oliver over to his pod.
Meanwhile, outside, all of the other remaining gen: LOCK members were setting up the playground. Kazu and Yaz's Holons were setting up these huge pillars, while Chase was shooting some hoops, waiting. Cammie and Valentina sat on the sidelines, waiting for their new recruits to come.
"So…" Valentina started. "That Oliver… he's cute, isn't he?"
"Huh?" Cammie responded, not really paying attention to what Valentina was saying. "You say something, Valentina?"
"Oliver." Valentina repeated. "He's cute."
Cammie's rabbit ears on her mech's head perked up, looking up at Valentina.
"What, are you fuckin' with me or somethin'?" She said in a really confused voice. "I just met that lad! Why would you think he would have a crush on me?"
"Ah, no reason." Valentina remarked, trying to stifle a chuckle. "It is actually quite obvious if you are more observant."
Then, Valentina walked away to assist Kazu and Yaz. Cammie then thought back to earlier, when Oliver was stammering when they were talking. Then, what Valentina said and Oliver's reply clicked together in her head. She quickly put her face in her hands, muttering things under her breath.
Back inside the lab, Oliver had just laid down in his pod, and the pod had now had him connected to the gen:LOCK technology.
"Everyone will be downstairs, ready to catch you." Dr. Weller assured calmly. "Are you ready, Mr. Hughes?"
Oliver breathed in and then breathed out loudly.
"Uh-huh." He replied. "As ready as I'll ever be."
Dr. Weller quickly moved back to the computers as the others continued to watch from the back. Caliban worked on the computers, beginning the preparation procedures.
"Clear your mind. Listen to your breathing." Dr. Weller whispered. "The goal is to lower heart rate and blood pressure. Just relax. Just be. You should sense a pulse; a repeating pressure you've never felt before at the edge of your mind. That's gen:LOCK's sync signal, looking for you. Give into it, reach for it, go to that sensation. Go to the light, grab it, and then hang on."
Oliver, listening to Dr. Weller, slowed his breathing down and closed his eyes. Caliban's monitor showed Oliver syncing up to the gen:LOCK program. The pod lit up, and then, Oliver felt that pressure take him down a winding path.
Oliver's perspective changed when he opened his eyes. He realized that he wasn't in the pod anymore. Instead, he was in the hanger, nestled in a bay. He looked around, seeing an engineer standing on a scaffolding beside him. Oliver then looked around. He rotated his arms around, now long and metallic. It also had some kind of orange muscle strands on it as well. He took one step, but he lost his balance, making him stop and correct himself.
"Oh, sorry." He said, waving at everyone working in the hanger bay at the time. "Pay no attention to me. I'm just… learning how to walk… again."
As Oliver's Holon took few more steps, he made contact with the bright sunlight. He lifted his hands to cover his eyes.
"This… this is amazing!" He admitted.
He looked around the area outside of the hanger. His HUD focused down on a set of automobiles, she heard some soldiers arguing and talking among themselves. After listening the static and the whatever words he could make out, he took a few more steps forward.
"Trucks are waiting in the yard…" He sang to himself as he took those steps. "Tackling them ease-ll…"
"Show the world what I can do… gaily boasts the Diesel-!"
As he was walking, he tripped and began to fall. Luckily, Kazu caught him and pulled him back onto his two feet.
"You alright, kid?" He asked, crossing his arms.
Oliver looked at Kazu's Holon in comparison to his own, and then looked around their surroundings. It was only then he realized how tall he was.
"Good lord, I'm tall!" He exclaimed.
"Obviously." Kazu said bluntly. "You're four stories tall, after all."
"No, like, really tall!" Oliver explained, pointing at his Holon's leg. "I think my legs are twice as long than they usually are!"
"You have a new center of gravity. Your legs are longer, proportionally speaking." Dr. Weller responded through their comms. "I only had enough time to design one frame to give you all, so I went with some idealized ratios, plus some stylistic touches. You'll adapt overtime."
Kazu scoffed a bit as Yaz walked up to them. Oliver looked at their armored Holons in comparison to his naked one. He quickly covered himself.
"Uh… I feel a little exposed here…" He muttered.
Cammie heard this, and giggled quietly. Kazu just chuckled and gave the kid a friendly pat on his shoulder. Yaz then contacted the lab.
"Who's next, doctor?" She asked.
Back in the lab, the remaining four candidates raised their hands. Dr. Weller turned around to see them lift their hands to volunteer. He smirked proudly, gesturing them to their pods.
One by one, the other Holons within the hanger woke up and began to move around. The brown one stretched its arms out. Hyun-Woo had uploaded onto this one.
"So… this is my new body?" He said to himself.
"You have a number of physical feedback indicators coming from all over your Holons." Dr. Weller explained. "It would be like moving your own body."
As Hyun-Woo's Holon stepped off from his bay, he was greeted by another group of Holons, to which he realized was his fellow candidates. The silver one was Eva, the pink one Charlotte, and the black one Eero.
"It's like I never even left my own body." Eero admitted, flexing his arms as if he was showing off his muscles.
Eva spun around a bit, admiring this new body of hers.
"I could work with this." She chuckled, making her arms flow gracefully past her body.
Charlotte was still trying to figure out how the Holon and her mind is able to function as one is medically plausible.
"The more I use this tech… the more it blows my mind…" She muttered to herself.
After their initial reactions were shared, Eero suggested that they should get moving. They all began to walk normally towards the hanger where everyone else was waiting for them.
"Condition and perception all looking good… no signs of cyber-attacks yet. Excellent!" Dr. Weller said as he kept tabs on everyone's statuses, as he rolled over to another monitor. "Let everyone gather outside, and we'll get going on engram formation. Oh, and happy second birthday, everyone!"
Then quietly, he added, "As many happy returns as possible…"
A little while later, Chase and Kazu were leading the new recruits towards where they had set up their playground for the day. Oliver was still having issues finding his balance on his Holon, but Charlotte helped him through it, with Hyun-Woo, Eero, and Eva walking beside them. As they walked on, Dr. Weller introduced the new recruits to their Holons.
"Welcome to your new bodies!" He announced. "Impervious to organic damage by virtue of having no organics onboard! And a wide, wide variety of benefits due to running your mind as code. There's so much we'll need to go over, but for now, just go play!"
The new Holons were a bit confused by this statement, but were quickly interrupted when Hyun-Woo was hit by metal ball of some kind. It clanked against the side of his head as it bounced on the ground for a bit. It was a small metal baseball.
"A baseball?" He asked.
Eero picked up the baseball and tossed it away. It sailed across the sky before disappearing.
"Oops." Eero muttered.
After the baseball had disappeared into the sky, Hyun-Woo turned his attention back to where the baseball had come from. He saw that Chase was leaning against a low shipping container with a crate of large metal balls.
"Any chance you got a soccer ball?" He asked.
Chase quickly rummaged through the crate and eventually found something that could double as one. Chase placed it on the ground before lightly kicking it to Hyun-Woo. Hyun-Woo stopped it, and quickly swiped the ball up with his feet. He juggled the ball with his feet a bit before shooting it back at Chase. Chase braced himself to catch it, but he missed, the ball slamming into the side of car.
Meanwhile, Eero was eager to test if this new Holon body of his is just strong as his real one. He walked over to Kazu, who was leaning up against a pillar. Eero approached him.
"So, I hear you are the muscle around here?" He asked.
"Yeah, I am." Kazu replied. "You want something?"
Eero quickly crouched down and propped his arm up against a shipping container. It would appear that he wanted to arm-wrestle. Kazu obliged, slamming his fists together. Then, he crouched down locked arms with Eero. Then, the two began to wrestle, the metal creaking under them.
Eva had moved to an isolated position, where she could be easily move around. She then began to some ballet routines, spinning and hopping. Valentina was fairly interested in it, so she approached her.
"You dance?" She asked.
"Yes." Eva replied. "I took lessons when I was a kid."
As Eva chatted along with Valentina, she continued to do her ballet routines, even going as far as doing a jumping leg split. Valentina was impressed, just watching her go.
Yasamin had backed off, but she accidentally ran into Charlotte, who was still trying to figure out this Holon works.
"Oh, sorry." She quickly said. "Didn't see you there."
"It's alright." Charlotte replied. "Just trying to figure out this body works, that's all."
"I could help you with that." Yaz suggested.
Yaz then quickly explained how to run with the Holons. She explained that they all have small wheels under their feet that allows them to glide along the ground. She then began to train her by doing some sprints around the playground.
Meanwhile, Oliver stood still, figuring out what to do. But Cammie quickly rushed by and tapped him on the shoulder before running away.
"Oliver, you're it!" She teased as she ran off.
Oliver turned back just to see Cammie run away.
"Hey, get back here!" He exclaimed.
He ran after Cammie, but Cammie had a trick up her sleeve. As she continued to run, she activated the wheels on her feet and swerved around. Once she got up to speed, she quickly slow downed and circled around to the back of Oliver. She then shoved him lightly, but the momentum caused him to fall flat on his face. He yelped as he fell. Cammie couldn't help but chuckle at the guy that supposedly has a crush on her as she pulled him back on his feet.
"Bloody hell…" Oliver muttered, rubbing the back of his head.
"Did I scare you?" Cammie teased.
This playtime with everyone went on for a bit. Chase quickly grabbed another ball and tried the dribbling trick that Hyun-Woo did, but he fumbled it as the ball rolled away from him and towards Hyun-Woo. Hyun-Woo decided to show him how to do it. He quickly did the dribbling one more time and had just shot it up before a purple smoke puffed it out of the air. Everyone then quickly turned to see a pair of smaller robots approaching them. They were Striders, piloted by the Vanguard's Charlie squad, Leon, Miranda, and Jodie.
"Gen: LOCK recruits! Meet your new drill instructors." Dr. Weller spoke again. "After today, they will begin your education in weapons, team combat tactics, and etcetera."
"They've had years of experience, and they are very generously donating their time to train you up. So, heed them well." Dr. Weller finished.
All of the new Holons approached the Striders, seeing the pilots inside. To be frank, they were a little worried for them.
"No offense, personnes…" Eva said. "Will you be okay, teaching us in those?"
"Hey, take it from us." Chase called. "They're the real deal. If you want to be trained, we got the right people."
The Strider pilots were a little flattered by the comment, but they quickly regained their composure and spoke to the new recruits.
"Like he said, we'll be whipping you rookies into shape." Jodie said. "And we're gonna have a hell of a time doing it."
"Now normally, I'd train our pilots in simulators, but if those other GL guys taught us anything, that is not the case." Leon commented. "And this is only a small taste of what's coming. School starts for real tomorrow."
"We'll be playing a simple round of capture the flag." Miranda explained, her Strider pointing to the flag post at the other end of the playground. "Just one of you has to get past us. Touch the flagpole. If we hit you, you're out."
And with the rules now set, all of the new gen:LOCK Holons got in ready position opposite the flag. They waited for the beginning signal. Leon fired a flare upward, signaling the start.
Everyone all charged forward, planning on rushing the Striders, but they were all immediately shot. Leon scratched his head in just defeat.
"Okay… let's go again." He sighed, gripping the controls again. "You can use the nearby structures as cover, yeah?"
The gen:LOCK recruits did as Leon suggested, this time avoiding and dodging the shots from the Striders a lot more easily. Still, they all got shot.
"No problem, you're not expected to win right outside of the gate." Leon said again. "Let's go again."
As the training unfolded, Dr. Weller watched the whole thing happen from his lab. Behind him, Colonel Marin walked up behind him and watched on as well.
Back outside, the recruits weren't making a lot of progress, but at least a little progress. However, every time they think they found an opening, the Striders immediately cover it. Oliver even tried a sneaky flanking move, but the Striders just flipped their guns around and just shot him, denying his chance at the flag.
Eero tried a direct approach, with Hyun-Woo running closely behind him. Eero crossed his arms in front of him as all of the Striders shot. Then, he stopped, planting himself into the ground. Then, Hyun-Woo jumped up, using Eero as a spring board. He soared over the Striders, and he landed on the other side gracefully. But he exposed his back, so he was shot in the back consequentially.
Now, it was Eva and Charlotte's turns. Eva got on top of the structures and hopped across them, while Charlotte charged forward to distract the Striders. She was shot, but it was a sacrifice so Eva could go for the flag. Miranda noticed this, so she called it out.
"We're missing one!" She said.
Everyone began to look around, and the Eva jumped down from the structure and towards the flagpole. Everyone began to cheer and yell for her, but it was a little premature. Jodie's Strider's guns flipped back, and shot Eva out of the air, knocking her off course and landing just outside the reach of the flag. Everyone deflated from their excitement.
"Alright, I think that's enough punishment for one day. Let's pack it in." Leon suggested.
"Wait!" Hyun-Woo yelled, raising his hand. "One more time!
"You sure you want that?" Jodie taunted. "I mean, we could definitely go more rounds, but considering the results…"
He was interrupted when all of the Holons began to move back to the starting line. Leon was a little surprised by this. Normally any time it's time to wrap up, the recruits would be thrilled.
"O-kay…" He muttered. "I guess one more time won't hurt. Reset, people."
The three Striders situated themselves in front of the flag one more time and prepped for the Holons. Speaking of which, Hyun-Woo had whispered something to them. They exclaimed a grunt of acknowledgement or something similar before getting into ready position. Leon fired another shot into the air.
All of the Holons rush toward the Striders. They all began to shoot at them, but Eero quickly ran up front, crossing his arms like before. He took all of the shots, but he continued to charge anyway. Oliver quickly positioned himself behind Eero, with Hyun-Woo running close behind. Charlotte and Eva had split off from the group, ducking into the structures. Charlotte weaved around them, while Eva climbed on top of one and began to jump across. After a bit more seconds of running, Eero stopped, planting himself again. Oliver quickly skidded to a halt, before clasping his hands together and turning around. Hyun-Woo then placed one foot on Oliver's hands, and Oliver launched him straight up. Hyun-Woo soared higher than last time.
"This again?" Jodie remarked. "Well, it won't work the second-"
Just then, Charlotte shot out from behind the structures and slammed into Jodie's Strider, knocking him out. The others tried to react in time, but Eva quickly landed in between them. Hyun-Woo used this chance to action-roll and grabbed the flag. He quickly got back on his two feet and raised it high into the air.
Even the first gen:LOCK members were impressed. Even on their first attempt, they never got a chance to grab the flag.
"Well, would you look at that." Kazu commented.
"That was… actually fuckin' amazing." Cammie agreed. "Good shite."
Everyone else also nodded in agreement, just stunned by the display of amazing teamwork from the new recruits. Dr. Weller quickly subsided the silence.
"Okay, well, I don't want to get anywhere exceeding uptime, which is a concept for later." He called in. "Let's call it a day, everyone."
Eva and Charlotte quickly helped the Striders back up on their feet, as two Hornbill aircrafts fly overhead and began to land nearby.
"Alright, time to clear out. Striders, back in hangers." Leon ordered. "gen:LOCK team… do whatever it is you guys do to reset."
As the Striders walked away, the Hornbills landed on their pads. A dozen medical trucks and cars drove up to them. The doors opened to let Union refugees out. Some were holding their sides as they exited, some were being carried by someone else, and some were even escorted out via some troops.
The new gen:LOCK recruits saw this, as well as the main gen:LOCK team. This was the third evacuation transport to arrive in the last month.
"It seems as if more days go by, there are more refugees…" Yaz sighed, putting her hands on her back.
"It's even worse when you know what the Union is very capable of." Eero muttered, leaning against one of the structures.
"Y'know, the daily news only tells you that they're increasing…" Oliver commented, clasping his hands together. "But… to actually see it…"
Cammie noticed this tenseness in Oliver, and wanted to comfort him, but she just kept to herself.
"It's whole new experience when you see it with your own eyes instead of through a video screen." Valentina added.
As the refugees exited and were escorted into the base, Dr. Weller mixed beside them, looking very grim.
"Needless aggression, unscrupulous greed, unchecked hate." He stated.
"Perfect words to describe those bastards." Charlotte interrupted.
Dr. Weller wiped his glasses, and continued after putting them back on.
"To have these thoughts, headlines, images, incessantly thrusted at you, second after second, minutes at a time… you become numb to it. They want you to feel as if all the evil in the world is too big to challenge. That loss of control leads to despair and destruction. To re-engage, to claw back even the smallest bit of control…"
He paused impressively. He sighed, and then continued on.
"You don't have to save the world; You just have to make a difference wherever you can, with the opportunities given to you. That is all I'm asking."
All of the gen: LOCK candidates quickly stood up and got around Dr. Weller's hologram.
"You make it sound so easy." Eva admitted. "But, you really have to ask yourself though: Can we, no, could we actually make a difference?"
"I know they are not." Dr. Weller retorted. "I had so much high hopes for how gen:LOCK could be used to expand communications, understand, and improve the human condition. But of course, in times of war, the first thing we do with it: is weaponize it. But maybe, just maybe, if this technology's purpose is to fight, we could apply it a new way. Saves lives, protect those who can't protect themselves, and buy time for others to finish this war. Afterwards, who knows what we can achieve?"
"And build a better world, a better peace." Yaz concluded.
"There is one glaring issue with that." Eero said. "Humanity is the one thing that ties all of those problems together."
"Yeah." Hyun-Woo agreed. "How would one solve evil?"
"You can't." Chase answered. "But the least you can do is step up and take a stand against it. And we, out of the entire globe, are given a special chance to help more people than what could be possible."
"What is gen:LOCK, if not the next step in humanity's evolution?" Dr. Weller added. "And you can be the first ones to take us along that journey."
"So, what do you all say?" Kazu asked, crossing his arms.
Everyone looked among themselves, now finally hearing everything about why they are here. After looking at themselves to think, they turned their attention back to Dr. Weller.
"We get to fight the Union in whatever manner we desire, yes?" Eva asked.
"To some degree." Dr. Weller answered.
"What kind of missions will be undertaking?" Charlotte asked.
"Depends on the circumstances." Dr. Weller replied. "It may vary, but you will be making a clear difference in this fight."
The new recruits looked at each other, and then back at Dr. Weller. Hyun-Woo stepped forward and raised his hand at Chase. Chase smiled internally, and shook his hand.
"Woo-hoo!" Cammie cheered. "Put'er there!"
The two large Holons separated their handshake and looked at their respective squads.
"Looks like our team just got a lot bigger." He remarked.
"We should celebrate!" Cammie suggested.
"How about some soju?" Hyun-Woo suggested.
"Oh, I've been dying to try some of that!" Kazu smiled.
Then, all ten Holons walked into the hanger bay to download, continuing to talk about what to do to celebrate. Dr. Weller saw them off before disappearing.
Back in the lab, Dr. Weller tapped his glasses. He turned around to see Colonel Marin standing behind him.
"You have quite the talent for speeches." She complimented.
"Why, thank you." Dr. Weller smiled, standing up. "These recruits needed to be given the same choices the first team's had, after all."
"For once, I feel at ease." The Colonel admitted. "And I assume the location of the medivacs were only coincidental?"
Dr. Weller, proceeding to walk out of the lab, smiled.
"Let's go with that." He answered cheekily.