The glass doors closed behind Dante and the young man looked at the empty streets of the city. A small drone fluttered in the air and in the distance, the hammering of some heavy machine could be heard. Outside of that, there was no sign of life inside the huge colonial ship.
He took his pad and searched among the applications of the Colony the one he needed at that moment, a few minutes later a solitary autonomous cab was turning the corner and stopped by the entrance of the enormous building.
It was already several minutes past noon and his stomach was reminding him in a somewhat rude way that he had had nothing but orange juice for breakfast in Duval's office. He returned to the pad and instructed the autopilot to divert to a nearby grocery store that was open 24 hours a day.
By this time, Dante was no longer surprised to find no one in the store. He grabbed a couple of snacks and a few drinks from the coolers and, going through the checkout, let the automated system record his purchases and automatically debit them from the temporary account Alpha Corporation had set up for him the day before. It felt good to have some money to spend again.
He got into the cab and let himself be carried through the lonely streets of the city to his apartment as he pondered the things he had witnessed that morning. His mind had absorbed all the information like a thirsty sponge, but there were still several points that were not clear to him. The most pressing was that neither Duval nor Willy had explained to him what the problem was that they wanted him to solve.
Everything seemed to revolve around this mysterious Swarm—Organization Thing. Was it some kind of cult that was forming within the game? Or perhaps some kind of terrorist grouping? The possibilities seemed clear, but if it was something of this severity, the NUNS would not think twice and would pull the suspects out of those pods without much thought.
There must have been something else in all this, a problem that had to be solved internally, without interference from the military or the government.
The thought of the militia brought to mind Lieutenant O'Higgins' face and her hostile attitude since they met. Dante suspected that the girl might have ties to the Hughs and their "Vendetta" across the galaxy but... The daughter of the 41st Fleet Captain? Willy wasn't kidding that he had found the toughest enemies in the whole game... if that disaster that his professional career had become could qualify as one.
He would have to watch his words when he was around the Lieutenant. At least he was comforted to know that the girl was a talkative person and her opportunities for interaction would probably be limited. A misunderstanding at the wrong place at the wrong time would end his days in one of the cells on Macross 41.
He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't notice as soon as the cab arrived at its destination. The assistant's digital voice informed him of the amount of the trip and reminded him not to leave any personal effects forgotten inside the vehicle. Dante got out and without wasting any more time he headed for his new home.
His apartment was in one of the neighborhoods surrounding the city of Cologne. He could see from the street the enormous metal walls that rose up to meet the ceiling almost a hundred meters above his head. A couple more lights were visible in the windows of the building and Dante wondered if he should introduce himself to his new neighbors or simply start living there without drawing too much attention to himself as Sutherland had recommended.
He left the decision for later and entered the building with his backpack in one hand and his shopping bag in the other.
About five minutes later he was in his apartment, and after taking off his shoes in the lobby, he threw himself into a small chair to relax a bit.
It didn't take him long to lose all interest in relaxation, after all he was working, even from the comfort of his new home. He got up and walked to the room where he took a look at the virtual reality helmet that had been left on the half—baked bed. He was tempted to put it on right away but thought again and went to the small kitchen instead.
While the water in the coffee pot was boiling, he put his shopping in the refrigerator and looked at what was available to him a little better. The apartment was very well furnished and provided with everything necessary for a comfortable life. He took one of the packages of instant ramen he had bought and after opening it he poured the boiling water inside. Then he closed the lid of the package and left it on the table to prepare himself.
In the meantime he changed his clothes and tidied up the place a bit while he thought about his "assignment" for the day. Should he play a video game? Duval made it clear that the priority was for him to get to know the game. Would he have to do a tutorial? Look for an online guide?
He returned to the dining room table with his pad on and uncovered the ramen container. A cloud of steam rose from inside and the smell of noodles and broth flooded the room. Dante took the chopsticks and after separating them with one movement he began to eat avidly while looking at the screen of the device where a series of videos he had selected told him things about the game.
Calypso was very similar to other games Dante had played in his childhood. You chose a character class and as you defeated monsters and did work for different factions in the world you could progress and improve your character's skills. The only substantial difference was that in Calypso's world all the races of the Protoculture that humanity had encountered in the last 70 years of exploration of the Galaxy coexisted.
Obviously, the Zentradis were the best known, both in their giant form and in their "Micronian" form, but there was also the Mestizaje, which amalgamated characteristics of both races, which enhanced (or limited) certain inherent abilities of each one.
But not only between Humans and Zentradis could mestizo characters be created; all races of the Protoculture could interbreed and generate different types of mestizo (and apparently the player could define the amount of genetic characteristics that could be manifested during the creation of a character) and so the variation of characters was extremely wide, as well as their powers and innate abilities to each one of them.
A simple glance at Calypso's character creation process made Dante's head start spinning. The options were overwhelming and he was heartily glad that Willy had generated a character with random values to free him from the whole process which, apparently because of the length of the video, could last more than an hour.
The only thing that the young man had asked was that his real appearance be preserved, which in the end dictated that his character would be a Human Being without any kind of magic or superhuman ability.
Dante had no problem with that and Willy completed the last details to his player account with the press of just a couple of keys. —Here is your character. —Said the Engineer as his finger pointed at the screen. —What do you think?
Dante appeared dressed in the same simple clothes he had appeared in Calypso the night before, the only difference being that now his skin was the right shade and a long sword was hanging out of his back.
—Am I going to be a warrior? —asked Dante.
—All the humans appear with the same basic equipment. —replied Duval. —You can then choose what kind of weapon to specialize in, there are more than a dozen classes of weapons from which to choose and specialize... I recommend that you try as many as you can and become familiar with the way to fight.
—Or you can choose the path of magic. —added Wally. —But the humans in Calypso are more oriented to using physical weapons and melee attacks, your arcane options are somewhat limited.
—I understand. —The young man answered.
—When you are ready to return to the planet, send a message to the Lieutenant, she will drop you off near the hometown so you can begin your adventure.
Dante scratched his head. —Are you really going to pay me to do this? —he asked, looking at the huge Director.
—You're still on probation. —Duval replied, staring at him with those big eyes. —Remember, we've got a week left until the long jump starts, I can still get you on a transport and kick your ass back to Eden.
—Yes, sir. —replied the young man nervously.
The game was apparently very simple. All the attacks and actions were performed through the virtualization of the movements that the user's brain generated and were "intercepted" by the virtual reality helmet to be translated to the game. The real complexity of Calypso resided in all the simulated subsystems that were generally transparent to the user.
From the amount of energy that was dissipated by a sword strike when hitting a shield to the aerodynamics of an arrow shot by an archer on a particularly wet day, the UniEngine applied a comprehensive physical simulation to every element present in the game.
Calypso was easy to learn but almost impossible to master. The number of factors at play in each user action made relying on the game's help system, or "Sixth Sense" as it was more familiarly known, almost mandatory.
Obviously that help system could be deactivated at will, but in that case it was the user himself who should be an expert in fencing, archery or acrobatics to perform the feats in the game, which few could achieve.
He finished his lunch and threw the used container and chopsticks into the recycling bin, after which he opened a beer while looking out the window.
The scenery there was as depressing, if not more so, than what was seen from the elevator in the Alpha Corporation tower. Blocks and blocks of apartment buildings stood side by side lit by the orange lights of the streetlights. Most of the windows were closed and the curtains were drawn. No plants or trees were visible anywhere.
With nothing else to do, he finished his drink and drew the curtains. Then he went to his room and dimmed the lights just enough so they wouldn't bother him during his play session, but without leaving him in complete darkness. He had put on some more comfortable clothes to get into Calypso so he simply laid down on the bed and put his helmet on his head.
As soon as the device detected his brain waves, the headphones were deployed over his ears and the screen in front of his eyes lit up and the startup interface was deployed reporting the status of the device and the game servers. Everything was green.
—I'm ready to go in. —he said aloud for the system to recognize his voice. A brief scan of his pupils and the interface instructed Dante to relax and leave his arms at his body's side as the Alpha wave generators began to induce the REM sleep state in Dante's body.
The young man's eyes closed suddenly as the Calypso hardware took complete control of the central nervous system.
And they were reopened in the same hotel room where Dante had disconnected the day before.
Dante stood up and noticed that he was wearing the same adventurous clothes he had seen on the screen of Willy's terminal. He reached back and felt the handle of the sword fixed to his back. He wanted to draw his weapon but a sign informed him that he was in a peaceful area.
He desisted from examining his new sword and instead went to the window. The landscape of the SDF—1 city was the same as he remembered, but now he felt strangely out of place dressed in medieval clothes in the luxurious room of a late—20th century hotel.
He left the room and descended to the entrance hall using the elevator. As he had spent the previous night he saw no one in the vicinity and everything was the same as before. He even saw the same cigarette smoking in the ashtray.
He thought about calling Lieutenant O'Higgins but immediately gave up. He wanted to explore the city and if he could, the whole ship.
Dante knew the SDF—1, the real one of course. He had gone to his school when he was ten years old and still remembered the deep impression those two huge towers rising to the sky made on his young eyes. The ship had been completely rebuilt and had been transformed into the NUNS headquarters on Earth, although its function was more ceremonial than practical. While the ship could take off from its anchorage, it was reserved for extraordinary occasions that few had ever witnessed.
The young man remembered the huge control tower and the post of the Captain and officers but he also remembered how they had rebuilt part of the city of South Ataria inside the bowels of the ship, although of course, those buildings were just a scenery for the curious who wanted to see how it had been a part of the history of mankind. In Calypso you could enter each one of them if you wanted and freely explore all the nooks and crannies.
When he came out he was already determined to explore the ship alone. He began to walk in the direction in which he had seen the park and soon reached the point where all the stairs and walkways led up to where the treetops could be seen peeking through the metal decks.
The park was small but very well maintained and illuminated. He saw not only trees, but green grass, flowers and the fountain of crystal clear water that danced reflecting the lights of the street lights. The young man made a complete tour of the place and descended to street level on the other side. He wanted to look for a place he remembered seeing in an Academy video.
He found Minmay's family's Chinese restaurant on a corner just a block away. The doors were open and the lights were on like all the other places she had seen. To his surprise, many of the tables were set and served. He saw plates overflowing with food and drink, even with candles lit.
He smiled when he saw that huge plate with a tuna head as a sinister decoration, but what surprised him most was the huge photo he saw on one of the walls of the restaurant.
Minmay appeared in it dressed as a waitress from the Chinese restaurant and Dante could do nothing more than admire in silence the face of that woman who, with her voice alone, had defeated one of the most powerful armies in the galaxy.
Minmay.
It was more than a legend of course, there was something magical in her voice, something that made men (and other races of the Protoculture) speechless before those songs that reached the heart to leave their indelible mark. If magic existed in the real world, Minmay was the living proof of it.
She moved away from the poster and passed by a table where they had placed a tray full of steamed dumplings that were still smoking. Dante took one of them and felt the heat on his fingers. Without thinking twice he put one in his mouth and tried to taste it. To his disappointment he did not feel any taste or anything special. He swallowed the sandwich and took one more from the pile and put it in his pocket in case he was hungry later, then he left the restaurant whistling a tune.
He still had one more place to go on the ship and that was the Macross Command Bridge. He walked around the city until he saw a transport of military personnel parked next to what looked like a Military Police checkpoint. He got into the vehicle and with satisfaction saw that the keys were in the ignition and the batteries were charged.
It was not difficult for him to find a route to his destination. Since the position of the city in relation to the center of the ship (from where the bridge stood in cruise mode) was known, it was enough for him to set a course for the bow and start climbing the decks every time he saw a ramp in the desired direction. After ten minutes of turning around he found the main route and for his fortune it was perfectly signposted. Five minutes later he was just below the huge bridge superstructure.
He got off the transport and took one of the elevators. There were no guards or automatic security systems. Everything was open and unguarded. As soon as the elevator doors opened, all the majesty of the huge space was revealed to the astonished young man.
The Macross Bridge was a real tower composed of several levels where the Captain and his officers occupied the top. The whole set of command posts was in turn encapsulated by the enormous glass dome that formed the front of the Tower itself. From the deck, where the elevators led to different parts of the ship, there were ramps that gave access to all the control posts. Dante went to the top, almost as if he were entering a sacred site.
The puzzlingly small door opened with a slight buzz and Dante bent down so as not to hit his head on the steel frame. The Captain's seat was not in the center of the room, unlike the new New Macross—class ships, but was to one side, as if it were just another command post. The only difference with the rest was the size of the back of the chair.
Bruno J. Global had been a great man, not only in terms of his excellent military career, and it seems that his captain's chair reflected that.
The young man walked silently across the bridge observing the incredible and exquisite detail with which the designers had reproduced every screw, every notch in the back of the seats. It was almost real. He stroked the materials of each of the appliances and furniture in that place feeling the different textures on his fingers. It was a truly amazing experience.
He resisted the temptation to sit in the Captain's chair. That place was almost sacred and no lesser man could sully it in the absence of its rightful occupant. He was surprised to notice that all the systems seemed to be working, both the radar screens and the navigation computer showed at that moment that everything was on standby in and around the ship.
Dante walked to the navigator and communications officer and looked out the window
Calypso was showing its dark side at that time and only the blue outline was visible, illuminated by the light refracted by the planet's oxygen—rich atmosphere. Of course, no artificial lights were seen on that night since electricity did not exist in Calypso, but you could see the electrical discharges from the regions where the storms were erupting at that very moment.
The Macross was in such an orbit that it always remained on the dark side of the planet. Dante assumed that the objective of such a curious position was to avoid the spaceship being visible from Calypso to the players since the albedo of the fortress had to be extremely reduced with the sun eclipsed by the planet. In any case, it was just over 1.2 kilometers long and at that distance he doubted that it could be visible to the naked eye, even if one of the two moons reflected enough light to illuminate the dark hull of the ship.
Something on one of the radar officer's screens caught his attention and he approached Officer Vanessa Laird with curiosity. The radar was in passive mode and only tracked the contacts that came in through the sensors distributed throughout the control tower, but also the signals that came in retransmitted from other ships.
To his surprise, he discovered that one of the datalinks was active and receiving data in real time.
—This seems interesting. —he said, sitting down in front of the huge screen. —Let's see what's out there.
The radar interface was strange, many of the controls were even analog with real knobs and buttons that you had to push and turn hard to input instructions into the computer, but at least the symbolism of the target acquisition and tracking system was quite similar to those currently used by all NUNS ships. Little had changed in the nearly seventy years of aerospace defense forces' existence, and it seems that the maxim "If it works, don't fix it" was a military favorite. The young man was trained to interpret that kind of information and soon his mind began to forget that he had an iron sword strapped to his back and was dressed as a fantasy adventurer.
Dante discovered that the active data link belonged to a fighter who was at that time almost five thousand miles away and was apparently engaged in combat.
Without thinking twice, he activated the main radar and aimed the tracking vector at the area where the ship was operating. The huge array of sensors located at the top of the Control Tower was set in motion and several antennas pointed at a region of space indicated by the young strategist's instructions.
To his surprise a Zentradi ship appeared on the screen and several smaller contacts soon followed.
—Wow! —Dante muttered, looking at the screen. —What the hell is going on here? Is this a joke or what?
He identified the contact as a Picket class, a relatively small type of ship used for reconnaissance and interdiction by the Zentradi Navy.
The young man focused his attention on the battleship that was fighting the enemy troops, vastly outnumbered, but still seemed to be performing exceptionally well on the battlefield. Enemy contacts disappeared from the radar every time they crossed in front of the weapons of that mysterious fighter, but they were simply too many.
Dante thought that a barrage of artillery could easily finish off the Zentradi ship that was stationary and in range of the secondary weapons of the fortress. Hell, he could even use the main cannon... Or could he? He put that idea out of his mind immediately.
He examined the Datalink for information about the pilot and his plane and confirmed what he had suspected all along.
—So it really is you, Lieutenant O'Higgins. —exclaimed the young man with a smile.
The young woman was fighting against a dozen Zentradi pods that were attacking her tirelessly from all directions at the same time. The VF—4 moved through the enemy fire like lightning, but its fuselage showed several indirect hits. The combat was not going well for the pilot.
Dante observed that the link sent two types of video signal: one originated in the main tracking camera of the fighter (i.e. the head of the robot) and another originated in the cockpit console, so that if he wanted, he could see the pilot's face from his screen.
He checked the radar again and quickly understood the situation. Without thinking twice, he took the communications headset and after putting on the voluminous device on his head, he spoke into the microphone in a clear and firm voice. —Skull One, this is SDF—1 Macross. The radar detects a dozen contacts on an intercept course to their current position. An immediate retreat from the combat zone is recommended.
There was a few seconds of radio silence and suddenly the alarmed voice of the Lieutenant was heard clearly above the sound of the explosions. —Who is speaking? —Identify yourself immediately!
—I am Dante Sebastian Joyner and I am operating the main radar of the SDF—1, follow my vectors and I will get you out of the danger zone soon. —he replied calmly. —I immediately change course to vector zero—zero—six...
—Get out of that place immediately! —exclaimed the Lieutenant. —You can't be there!
The image of the pilot appeared in a window on the radar screen, and Dante knew she could see him too. —Nobody told me I couldn't come in here. —The young man apologized. —But I'm trained to handle these things and if you don't follow my instructions...
—I don't need your fucking help, Joyner! —shouted the young woman. —This doesn't concern you! —Ahhh!
The last thing the young man saw before the transmission was abruptly cut off was the cabin in a huge explosion.
Dante took off his headset and placed it on the communications console knowing that he had signed something like his death warrant. He sighed deeply and turned off the active radar and communications links. As the huge metal disks returned to their original position, the young man finished shutting down the rest of the systems. After a few minutes everything was back to "Stand—by" as he had found it. He took the logbook of the radar station and quickly wrote down what had happened as he was trained to do.
It didn't take long for the Command Bridge door to open and Lieutenant O'Higgins, still wearing her black flight suit, entered with her helmet in hand. Dante got up from the chair and without thinking too much he knelt on the floor and bowed his head until his forehead touched the metal floor, such was the Japanese way of offering sincere apologies. —I am very sorry. —He said sincerely sorry.
Karina O'Higgins looked at him and left her helmet on one of the consoles, then without saying a word she walked to the navigator's station and sat down on the chair. —You were right. —You were right," she said after a few seconds of silence looking at the planet in the dark.
Dante opened his eyes. —Huh?
—I checked the simulation on my pad. —replied the young woman, showing the screen of her device. —The vector you gave me was the only possible way out of that ambush.
Dante got up and leaned on one of the consoles. —I'm really sorry I ruined your training. —he said. —I... overreacted, I should never have come in here without permission but... this place is...
—I understand you. —replied the young woman. —This place is something like a sacred place. You are from Earth, right?
Dante nodded.
—Do you know the SDF—1 inside out?
—Yes, I visited it years ago during an excursion with the school, but entrance to the bridge is strictly forbidden. We only visited some parts of the interior and the reconstruction of the city.
The Lieutenant caressed the metal of the console of the post occupied by Claudia LaSalle. —This is the most real thing that can be achieved with today's technology. —she said in a strangely melancholy voice.
The two young men remained silent listening to the sound of the machines around them. The only indication of the passage of time was Calypso slowly turning on its axis. It was the young woman who first broke the silence.
—Is it true what is said in the militia about you? —she asked directly.
Dante shrugged his shoulders. —Would you believe me if I said no?
Karina kept looking at the stars through the glass. —Not until last night. —She answered without stopping looking outside. —But this morning, after I left the office, I started to check some details about your case in the army networks.
The young man was silent.
—They say you sabotaged a joint operation to score points on your record so you could graduate with a perfect score, killing all your classmates in the process. —she said, turning her head to Dante. —Is it true?
—Is it true that we all died during the operation —replied the young man. —And that I was the only one responsible for it. —he acknowledged.
Lieutenant O'Higgins looked at him intrigued. —So you don't deny it.
—Only the points part is a vicious lie. —He said, looking at the Lieutenant's flight helmet.
—Some say you're just a troll, that your aim was to make a fool of the militia, but others say you're a dangerous and unpredictable manipulator, and that getting you out of the force was the best way to prevent your madness from putting men and women in danger.
Dante looked her in the eye. —But even after reading all those horrible things about me, you give me the benefit of the doubt... Why?
The young woman frowned. —Because I know how tainted the militia is inside. —She said with a hint of anger in her voice. —And because I saw how you defended that player during our meeting yesterday evening.
The young man shook his head. —It was a useless gesture, I had no chance to protect Silvana from that monster, besides... Couldn't it have been just an act? —He asked, looking the pilot in the eyes again. —Don't you think someone of my ilk would try to make a good impression?
Karina shook her head. —You wouldn't be the first to try to win my friendship with a fake gesture. —she replied. —Many believed me to be an easy way to access my father's favors, and I had no trouble showing him how wrong they were.
Dante nodded. —And yet...
—And yet I wasn't quite sure about you. —she replied by crossing her arms. —Something in your story intrigued me.
—What was it?
—Sutherland. —replied the Lieutenant. —Retired General Robert Sutherland supported you. That's not a coincidence.
The young man looked at her in amazement. —You...
—I can doubt the integrity of the Force. —continued the young woman. —But not the integrity of General Sutherland. That man personifies honor and vocation of service.
—It was Sutherland himself who begged me to leave the Militia. —Dante replied. —He said that corruption in the force had been spreading like a tumor throughout the galaxy.
—Yes, I know. —She replied. —And he has been left all alone and surrounded by enemies.
Dante felt a wave of remorse. Karina O'Higgins was absolutely right of course. —I would have gladly given up that bullshit of points to stay with him and learn everything he knows. —He said, clenching his fists. But others decided my fate by force and I could do nothing about it — nothing!
—You are not alone, Joyner. —said the young woman, looking at the Captain's chair. —Don't think I'm here of my own free will.
That really surprised the young man, who looked at her in amazement. —What do you mean?
But the young woman did not respond and stared at him again. —Perhaps I misjudged you at first, Joyner. —he said. —Time will tell if I was wrong or not.
—You can call me Dante. —said the young man, scratching his head.
—All right, Dante. —he said, sighing. —I hope the hammering doesn't hurt that much.
—What hammer...?
The blow of the huge war hammer hit the young man's head hard and threw him violently against the radar screen. The cracking of the strategist's skull when he received that devastating blow was so realistic that even Lieutenant O'Higgins herself made a gesture of pain.