Alister and Kaden were still lying on the arena floor of the combat room well after Lacera had left several minutes ago. Neither one of them had moved a muscle because every muscle they had was either on fire with pain or frozen from the numbing effect of the combat Nanotech in their systems.
Alister groaned painfully, "Ehhhh, Kaden?" he asked from where he lay on the floor next to a dent in the wall. "Are you conscious?"
"Yeah, I am," Kaden replied hoarsely from a few feet away.
"Why didn't you tell me we were about to fight Lacera Suraisu, The Mad Queen of the Depot?" Alister asked with hints of scorn in his tone.
"I didn't know," Kaden answered honestly.
"Then, why didn't you tell me we were here to try out for the Tough Nuts?" Alister questioned next.
"I didn't know they were the Tough Nuts," Kaden answered again.
"You know, I had other plans tonight," bemoaned Alister. "My squad from Team Tactics got ranked first in our class this semester. We were going to celebrate."
"I'm... sorry," Kaden apologized as sincerely as he could. "I only just found out about the offer today and registration closes tonight."
But Alister didn't seem to have heard Kaden, he just continued on, "There was going to be music and food and some students from the Art Field were going to join us," he continued gloomily.
"We made it on the team, didn't we?" countered Kaden. "At least there's that."
"I was going to meet a pretty girl and we were going to talk and dance and trade NID links," continued Alister, lost in a world of half fantasy and half concussion-induced delusion.
Kaden sighed deeply, which he immediately found to be a painful activity, "Hey, we get another shot at Kor and that's what matters, right?" asserted Kaden firmly. "You need to get your priorities straightened out."
Alister grumbled angrily, "Kaden, thanks to you, I now have to get my spine straightened out," he retorted coldly. "You know, not everyone in this academy is as obsessive as you are. Most of us actually want to have a life besides experiments and explosions and getting our tails handed to us." Alister breathed in painfully, "I just wanted to dance with a pretty girl."
Kaden coughed out a short laugh, "Well, you did get to dance with a girl," he offered humorously. "It just happened to involve lots of wrench swinging and few explosions."
Alister shook his head, and regretted it immediately as the pain in his skull surged, "You can't date a girl from the Military Field, everyone knows that."
Now, Kaden was starting to worry about the severity of Alister's apparent concussion, "Not that I think there's much chance of that happening, but why is that a rule?" he asked as he looked up at the bloody imprint of lips on his shattered visor. "I got the feeling that Lacera kind of liked us."
"Exactly!" burst Alister, before coughing violently. He waited for the hacking to subside before he continued, "Now imagine what would happen if she was 'mad' at us and 'really' wanted to make us suffer."
Kaden was surprised at the clarity of Alister's words, "I see your point."
Varin, Wraith, and Torque all stood up and applauded as Lacera walked into the observation box of the arena, a very pleased smile shone from her face.
Varin raised a cup of liquid into the air, "To the fearless leader of the Tough Nuts," she toasted proudly, "for once again reminding us that it is 'she' who puts both the 'tough', but especially the 'nuts' in Tough Nuts."
"An exquisite performance as always," agreed Torque with a bow of respect.
"Here, here," added Wraith as he lifted his own glass.
Lacera feigned a gesture of embarrassment, "Oh stop. You guys are making me blush," she said sweetly before dropping the act and straightening back up. "Varin?" she added with a serious tone.
Varin nodded and reached over to a robot that looked like a walking coffeemaker. From it, she pulled a glowing green vial from a side compartment, "One perfectly calibrated nano-cocktail with no side effects," she said before tossing the vial to Lacera. "Your NID says you bit your tongue and ruptured an eardrum."
Lacera caught the container mid-air and popped off its seal before swigging down its contents in one shot.
Immediately she could felt some of the Nano-tech in the liquid cling onto the large gash in her tongue and begin to close it while the rest worked its way into her bloodstream. The nanoscopic machines then quickly found their way to her right ear and after a few seconds of tickling, she could hear sound from it again.
Lacera was always impressed with Varin's ability to control Nanotech. The standard blue combat Nanotech was only good for ensuring a combatant doesn't die, which was a definition that was very open to interpretation. She knew from experience that Nanotech left many of her senses dull after extended combat missions. Having all the comforts of a med center at the toss of a vial was a luxury that she couldn't remember how she ever lived without.
Lacera nodded her thanks and peered out of the observation window at the still-unmoving forms of Kaden and Alister, "Those two will probably need a little Nanotech themselves," she noted.
Varin laughed, "I don't have their NID codes so I won't be able to get too precise with the repair, but I'm making them a generic mix anyway. From what I can see, those two are so damaged that it'll take a while to mix all of theirs," she explained with a glance to her Nanotech mixer-bot. "I'll need to make a vial each, just for what you did to them 'after' they officially won the match," she added with just a touch of mock disapproval.
"Oh, it wasn't that bad," countered Lacera indignantly.
Wraith stifled a laugh, "Please, if you had planted those two any deeper into the arena floor we'd need to water them and wait for them sprout before the next Depot match."
"On that topic," interjected Torque with his gaze turned on Kaden and Alister, "how would you rate the talent of our prospective troupe members?"
"Well… they won," Lacera began, revealing only the smallest hint of disdain for this fact. "Alister is exactly like his records show, very naturally skilled, but undisciplined and reckless."
"And Kaden?" asked Varin curiously.
Lacera studied Kaden's motionless form carefully with tight lips, "I like his eyes." she replied cryptically.
"Care to explain?" asked Wraith.
Lacera considered her words for a moment, "When I fight," she began thoughtfully, "I let my instincts drive my movements. I attack when I see an opening, I pull back when I suspect a faint... When Kaden fights, each move is calculated. Each attack or block is another stepping stone to achieving victory. And... the more time he has to calculate, the more dangerous he becomes. We have a name for people like him in the Military Field."
"Oh?" asked Varin curiously. "What's that?"
"Priority Targets," explained Wraith.
Lacera nodded her agreement, "Kaden's like a spider, carefully weaving a web around his prey until, before they know what's happening, they can't move. About halfway through the fight, I realized that he was opening up his defense and picking where I'd hit him next. In hindsight, it's a good plan since he couldn't possibly avoid being hit entirely, but what kind of person so coldly calculates the sacrificing of their own body parts, like they're no more than tools to be thrown away?"
The question was rhetorical, but Lacera paused to let everyone consider it, "It's his eyes though... they're the coldest things I've ever seen. They're constantly studying everything, but are impossible to read themselves. Too busy to react to pain or show much surprise, looking into them was like looking into a black hole. Their depth seemed endless and they feel like they're sucking you in and surrounding you, like they can see something that you can't." Lacera put her hand up on the glass and breathed out slowly, "I've fought robots with more emotion in their eyes. Those eyes send chills down my spine," she finished quietly.
The room was left silent for a moment after Lacera had finished speaking. They had all seen firsthand how terrifying their leader could be, but this was the first time they'd ever seen a hint of her fearing anything else.
"You can't be serious?" said Varin at last in disbelief. "He acts like a fool half the time."
Lacera shook her head lightly, "Now Varin, you don't actually believe that, do you?" she asked with a tone of disappointment. "I'm surprised 'you' of all people can't see it. When Kaden and I were at a standoff, I thought I could see the gears in his head turning. I thought I saw him realize that I would let him win and that I'd shoot him anyway, but... I never saw him rig his blaster to overcharge. So then, when did he do it? Definitely not after I'd engaged with him. Deciding not to pull that trigger had seemed like his last resort, but he had foreseen the possible standoff and made sure that he won either way. That is not something some ordinary fool could pull off."
"Then his audition was to your liking?" asked Torque, looking for a definitive answer.
Lacera glanced at Torque's questioning expression before returning her gaze back out the window, "Yes, Torque, I find him very much to my liking," she said with an undertone of both satisfaction and anticipation. "I'd hate to lose Varin on the field, but Kaden's going to be our Tech. for the Tough Nuts next match."
Torque seemed happy with the answer and Wraith accepted it with a nod, but Varin wore an expression of wariness, "Just how much 'to your liking' are we talking about?" she asked suspiciously.
Lacera's lips turned into a slight, mischievous grin, "I mean that I think he'll be an excellent asset to the team. What else could I mean?" she asked coyly.
Varin rolled her eyes, "He's already taken you know," she warned.
Lacera turned from the window to raise a surprised eyebrow at Varin, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize-"
"No," Varin asserted stiffly and without hesitation.
Lacera shrugged and turned back to Kaden's still motionless form, though now it seemed like he was talking with Alister from where he lay, "Don't worry about it, either way," she said reassuringly. "The brainy ones aren't my type, always too much thinking and not enough feeling." Then she shifted her gaze slightly and her mischievous grin returned, "But give me a handsome, headstrong Lombax with a big trust fund and you've got yourself a deal."
Alister felt his blood run cold as an inexplicable sense of dread suddenly gripped his senses. He looked around the arena slowly, but he could not find a source for the terrible premonition of danger. The feeling was strange, but the most unusual part about it was that he'd felt this sensation before.
One time, when Alister was very young, he and his parents had gone to the grand opening of the Valmechan Zoo's newest exhibit. Apparently the daughter of one of his father's business associates was going to perform at the opening ceremony.
On that day, however, something awful had happened. Somehow a wild Grunthor had gotten loose from its pen and went rampaging through the park. Most of the high profile guests were able to evacuate quickly, but Alister had wandered off on his own to see all the animals on display. It was then that he came face to face with the three story tall, fire breathing monster with acid salivating from its fanged jaws.
Alister had never forgotten that horrible feeling of ice in his veins from when he looked into the behemoth's eyes. He would never forget that dreadful moment of being eyed hungrily, like a piece of meat.
This time though, Alister concluded that the feeling must have been a result of the damage he'd sustained in the fight. At least, that's what he'd hoped.
Late the next day, Alister and Kaden were on their way to a location in the Military Field that neither of them had ever been to before.
The two of them had spent the previous night and most of the morning in the med. center and were now almost fully recovered from their initiation ordeal. Varin had come to visit them during this time in order to give them instructions on when and where to visit the Tough Nuts' club room for orientation.
With this in mind, Kaden and Alister arrived at the designated Field address and found themselves standing outside of a large, sliding door that read 'Tough Nuts' across it.
Alister gave a slightly concerned look to Kaden who mirrored it, but quickly pushed it from his features and swiped his hand across the access panel.
There was a short tone that played, followed by a flashing green light on the panel before the door slid open.
Kaden walked through first, followed by Alister, into a large open space with a vaulted ceiling and wide, half-circular couch at its center. Sitting on opposite ends of the couch were Varin and Lacera, who were both staring at a wide-screen, holo-vision display. On it appeared to be an action holo-film.
Beyond this central living area was a two-tiered floor with a set of stairs leading to each of them.
The bottom tier, which was sunken under the couch room's floor slightly, appeared to be a bunk room. Several sleep-pod lockers were visible from where Kaden and Alister stood and one of them was already deployed. There was a black-furred Lombax lying in it whilst reading a holo-book.
The top tier floor appeared to be a kind of kitchen with a table at its center. Sitting at the table was a massive, white-furred Lombax who was eating something while humming a tune softly to himself.
Hearing the door open, Lacera looked over from the holo-screen and spotted Kaden and Alister enter, "Well, look who it is," she said cheerfully before switching off the monitor and turning to the back of the room. "Come meet the new meat!" she ordered.
The black-furred Lombax looked up from his holo-book and sighed softly before tapping it off and getting out of bed. At a wave of his hand, the bed retracted into the wall and a desk slid forward to replace it. He then laid the book on the desk and headed toward the stairs.
The large Lombax looked up from his food to see what Lacera was talking about. Seeing who had arrived, he then turned back to his plate and shoveled what remained of his meal down his throat before wiping sauce from his fur and also heading to the stairs.
Lacera beckoned Kaden and Alister forward as the other two Lombaxes took seats on Lacera's side of the couch. Kaden then took a seat next to Varin and Alister sat next to him.
Varin cleared her throat, "Kaden, Alister," she began formally, "welcome to the Tough Nuts' staging area. This is Lacera, whom you've both met," Lacera nodded and smiled at Kaden and Alister warmly. Neither of them felt any warmth though. "This is Isaac," Varin continued with a gesture to the black-furred Lombax, "and this is Attor," she finished with a gesture to the large white-furred Lombax.
Lacera leaned forward to address them next, "I am the leader of the Tough Nuts. As such you can call me boss," she said before leaning back into her seat.
The Lombax named Isaac leaned forward next, "You can call me Wraith, because if you see me on the battlefield, it will be the last thing you see," he said seriously with no signs of exaggeration or bravado. "I'm the team's overwatch specialist, so I'm the 'sniper'."
The large Lombax spoke next, "My stage name is Torque," he explained with the air of someone telling an epic tale. "I walk the battle grounds with the mightiest of instruments and my approach is heralded with the sound of grand percussion. I look forward to making splendid music with you both."
There was a brief pause as the rest of the team allowed Kaden and Alister to absorb Torque's words before Varin explained, "He means: his nickname is Torque and he's our heavy weapons specialist. Also, he's glad you joined the team."
"Ah," said Kaden with comprehension. Alister still looked confused.
"Now to the matter of your tenure with the Tough Nuts," said Lacera, taking over the conversation again, "Varin hasn't told you yet, but at this point in time, we only have a temporary spot available. One of our members was injured in a pre-season match and will be unable to compete, at least not before the next scheduled match."
"That's fine," replied Kaden. "We're really only interested in getting the chance to fight Kor Vol'terran again. We owe him. Varin told me that your team's first match will be against 'his' Depot team."
Lacera nodded, "Yes, that's true," she confirmed. "So, you two are interested in joining because you want to challenge the Red Reaper of Nova?" Alister and Kaden both nodded. Lacera seemed pleased, "Well, it's always good to see the new generation having a healthy desire for vengeance, but I have to warn you, you're not the only ones after Kor's tail. He's also beaten 'many' of the other students who have tried taking him on and many were from higher levels."
"We can handle it," said Alister, his ego beginning to surface.
Lacera nodded approvingly before continuing, "It's both fortunate and unfortunate for you then, that the Tough Nuts' primary goal of this season's Capture the Depot games is taking down both Kor and the Gold Bolts, which is the name of the team that hired him."
"The Gold Bolts 'hired' him?" interrupted Kaden in surprise.
Varin spoke next, "I've told you about the rich kids at Nova, the ones that get by with bolts?" she asked with contempt in her voice. "A common tactic they use, to raise their own levels, is to participate in Military Field competitions that require teams. They then hire skilled students to piggy-back them to victory and thus a higher Field rating. The Gold Bolts are one of the worst offenders of this. I mean, just look at their name."
Kaden understood what Varin meant, 'gold bolts' were a kind of legend for treasure hunters and adventurers.
Many galactic governments required a tariff that's charged on direct transportation of bolts across their astral borders. Bolts themselves are made of a specific ratio of metals, but the metal with the highest percentage per unit was gold. Because of this, most authorities use gold as a standard for the taxes charged on the transported material. And because of that, most smugglers sent ships through normal customs with the other material components of bolts shaped as ordinary items, while sneaking shipments of pure gold across blockades to be re-smelted back into bolts later.
Smugglers even have a custom of molding the gold into giant bolt shapes. This has led to numerous stories of explorers finding smuggler stashes of gold bolts on numerous planets across the galaxy. The practice has become so widely used in the underground that gold bolts themselves have become currency for certain black market transactions.
"Kor was a perfect choice for them," explained Lacera. "He's highly skilled, but his level is low. He was likely desperate to join a team, but most teams are very picky with their new recruits. They probably have him working for a fraction of what they usually pay their mercs."
Kaden nodded his understanding, "So then, why do you have a grudge against him?" he asked.
The expressions on all the Tough Nuts seemed to sour in unison, "Because he's the one who injured our fifth team member," answered Lacera bitterly. "My little sister, Viscera."
Alister recognized the name, "She's the one who got third in the MSET," he said as he realized where he'd heard it before.
Lacera nodded, "Yes, she managed to make it to level two over the break period and then begged me to let her join. We needed a new member anyway so I agreed. The purpose of the preseason Capture the Depot matches are mainly to test out new recruits in the depot, we just happened to be facing the Gold Bolts for ours. Viscera got over enthusiastic about proving herself and then... she met Kor. She's been in the med. center ever since."
Both Kaden and Alister winced at the thought of what had transpired. Alister reflexively touched the spot on his chest that Kor had punched.
Lacera noted their reactions before continuing, "If you still want to join us, you're welcome to, but 'we' get first shot at Kor Vol'terran. If he lives that long, you can take your swings, is that acceptable?"
Kaden thought for a while and turned to Alister, "What do you think?" he asked.
Alister didn't need time to think about it, "Either way, he's beat right?" he answered. "Even if we don't get to make the finishing blow, we will have still helped by being on the team. Not to mention getting the Field credits."
Kaden slowly nodded, "Alright," he said decidedly as he turned back to Lacera, "it's a deal."
"Excellent!" exclaimed Lacera. "Now let's go over the basics of Capture the Depot." She then reached toward the coffee table in between them and typed something onto a panel embedded in it.
A moment later holographic light flooded out of its surface. The dots of light began linking together until they grew into a layout of a tall building which was surrounded by a large, empty field, which was then surrounded by a forest of trees.
"This... is The Depot," Lacera said affectionately. "The primary objective is to be the first team to capture two out of the three nodes within the depot building itself. When we fight the Gold Bolts tomorrow, it will be a team versus team match. Each team will begin just outside the defensive circle," Lacera tapped something on the panel and a large circle appeared on the hologram with the building at its center. The edge of the circle ran the length of the tree line. "So long as you're not in this circle, the automated depot defenses won't attack you," she explained before typing in something else.
After she finished typing, the large holo-monitor on the wall reactivated and on it appeared several images of attack androids. These droids had swords or guns of various kinds where their forearms should've been. Near the bottom of the screen were several icons for what looked like turrets and bug-themed light tanks.
"The first task we'll have to accomplish," Lacera continued, indicating the empty field between the treeline and the building, "is to make it past the 'dead man's land' and get into the depot. Once in the depot itself, we simply fight our way through more defenses or, if we run into them, the other team and try to capture two of the nodes before our enemies do."
With a few more clicks, the hologram zoomed in on the holographic building and its walls became transparent, revealing three glowing pads within the multi-floored building. Each pad was on a higher floor than the last.
Lacera highlighted one of the nodes, "In order to capture a pad, a team member has to stand on it and activate the control screen. From there, an image of a circle with colored sections will appear and a marker will highlight a section at the beginning. After the screen is initiated, the marker will move around the circle. You are then required to slam the control button when the colored sections are highlighted. The process itself is simple enough, but trust me, when there's weapons fire aimed at you, this becomes a serious challenge. If you can line up all the marks, you win control of the node."
Lacera finished her quick tutorial and left Kaden and Alister to study the hologram layout for a few moments.
"Can I move this?" asked Kaden with a gesture to the hologram display and holo-screen.
"Of course," consented Lacera.
Kaden nodded his thanks and removed his digi-pad from where it was mounted on his suit's forearm.
Lacera noticed what he was doing, "It's encrypted," she warned him. "The access code is One-Delta-six-seven…" She trailed off from giving Kaden the rest of the code because the pictures on the holo-screen had started moving rapidly and the hologram began changing size and texture.
Lacera scratched her head and was about to say something to Kaden, but it was clear that he had already become absorbed in studying the new information. His eyes darted rapidly over his digi-pad and over to the hologram and holo-screen.
Varin smiled smugly at her teammates and Lacera shook her head before turning to Alister, "So, Alister," she began curiously. "What is 'your' personal reason for getting revenge on the Red Reaper?"
Alister looked up at her with a brief sign of anxiety, possibly due to their last interaction, but he gulped it back a moment later and then spoke unreserved, "To be honest, Kaden's the one with the deep grudge to settle, not me," he admitted. "Though, I did manage to get away in the MSET and keep most of my souls, whereas Kaden didn't."
"I see," replied Lacera with a nod. "So you're saying that Kaden just wants revenge because Kor defeated him?"
"Yeah, pretty much," confirmed Alister. "Though I wouldn't mind a little payback either," he added.
Lacera thought deeply for a moment. Something was bothering her about Alister's answer. Kaden's actions seemed a little extreme for someone who'd simply lost a single fight. It was even stranger that someone so calculating, and not even a full member of the Military Field, would even be upset over something like that.
There was also the fact that Kaden seemed to hold absolutely no ill will towards herself for the thrashing she'd given him just the other day. Sure, technically he had won that match, but that kind of cool headed thinking was inconsistent with Kaden's current behavior. The idea bothered Lacera, but there were more pressing things to inquire about at the moment.
"How much would you say the Azimuth family is worth?" she asked next.
The question caught Alister off guard, "Uhhh, what? I-I don't know, exactly," he answered awkwardly. "We own the largest Lombax mining operation outside of Fastoon. I couldn't even guess really, I was never very good with the business side of Azimuth Mining, that's why I joined the Military Field. Why do you ask?"
"No reason," she said dismissively.
Alister was still confused by the sudden interest. He glanced over at the rest of the Tough Nuts and was even more confused to see passing hints of what appeared to be pity in their expressions… pity directed toward him.
"I fear the tone of your future may soon be thrown off key," said Torque sadly.
Alister was now even more confused, "What?" he asked in complete bafflement.
Wraith smiled thinly, "You know, we call him Torque because he has a few bolts loose," he said humorously.
Varin shook her head, "Don't be mean to Torque just because you can't understand him," she chided. Varin then directed her attention to Alister, "Torque here is actually a member of the Art Field. He's in the music division, so that's why everything he says is a musical analogy."
Alister boggled at the fact that Torque was in the music division and at how Varin's words weren't even remotely close to a decent explanation for his odd form of speaking.
But Alister decided to toss out the thought instead, "So Torque," he began to ask, "if you're interested in studying music from the Art Field then why are you fighting in the Military Field?"
Torque seemed happy to hear the question, "In my long search for truly alluring melodies, I stumbled across the most enchanting and soul touching of notes from a most unlikely source. The rhythms of the battlefield are capable of becoming an orchestra of exquisite beauty... if one simply has the ears to listen," he answered.
Alister silently rebuked himself for not knowing better than to have asked, as he had absolutely no idea what Torque was talking about.
"What's your mother like?" asked Lacera from out of nowhere.
"What?" blurted back Alister, in a dumbfounded response.
Lacera was about to ask the question again, but suddenly Kaden looked up from his digi-pad with an expression of clarity on his face. Everyone naturally turned their attention to him and waited curiously for him to speak.
"I have an idea."
AN:
Nodes - The Nodes in the Capture the Depot game are the same ones from Full Frontal Assault.