Chapter 1 That's Hell I'm walking into.
It wasn't all that long ago that humanity found itself on the brink of collapse. The reasoning was quite simple, entirely predictable yet nonetheless devastating.
Lack of Energy.
To clarify, all the fossil fuels that had fed mankind's insatiable need for energy had finally dried up.
Renewable options were heavily sought after but their inefficiency and rarity were such that they simply could not support the demand.
The machine of progress ground to a halt, mass production was infeasible and further research impossible with the energy demand of the more specialised machines. Healthcare deteriorated, and long distance travel became impossible. For a time mankind regressed into a strange tribal dystopia. Not that language or knowledge was lost but that it found no use in this time.
To mankind's great fortune, this crisis would end fifty years ago in 2095. when an expedition from the SS Amundsen discovered Argent plasma in a trench on Mars.
This on its own would not be enough without someone to make use of the opportunity. Thankfully humanity had one such individual.
Samuel Hayden.
An unprecedented genius in an age that desperately needed one, he was quickly given leadership over the Union Aerospace Corporation, with which he established an outpost on Mars with the intent to extract the Argent plasma from the Argent Fracture.
This was a turning point for humanity. A seemingly infinite source of energy that could fuel Earth's needs easily. But this was not enough for Hayden, and in 2127 he completed his Magnum Opus, the Argent Tower.
This structure was immense, and it's purpose was simple, to gather massive amounts of Argent Plasma from the Fracture, purify it, then transfer the energy wirelessly across the empty reaches of space, back to Earth where humanity could benefit from the source consistently. No more requirement for logistics that could take anywhere from a year, to a decade to make the delivery.
Some time after this Hayden would transfer his consciousness to a robotic body in order to continue his own existence.
This was all however in the past. It is the year 2146 and I find myself on a UAC transfer ship along with around a hundred other aspiring young engineers and this, is very VERY bad.
You see in about three years demons are going to start swarming out of hell to take over the world.
I know it sounds fucking crazy but I guarantee its true, and this is bad because I'm gonna be at ground zero. Not that going back to earth would be a very good idea either. I mean, in eternal the place was basically a ravaged wasteland, at least the UAC base on Mars was fucking intact.
So I've basically been pacing here, wondering what to do until I had an epiphany. The Doom Slayer. And honestly it seemed kind of obvious. All I needed to do was make sure I'd be alive long enough that he could save my ass. There were however only two places that I could be. Hayden's office or the Slayers Sarcophagus. If I am with the Slayer, the pistol on the counter would be sufficient protection from the few possessed in the room that I could survive long enough for him to wake and bail me out.
If I'm with Hayden I could potentially stay in his penthouse/bunker until the Slayer arrives. I know Hayden from the game was a bit of a douche but he wouldn't let someone die for no reason… at least I hoped not. It all really came down to effort. I needed to get into a position where I could access either of those locations without suspicion. This would mean I'd need to work hard. Thankfully I wasn't incapable of this, apparently the body I was shoved into around fifteen minutes ago, had memories from this world and I was perfectly trained to handle whatever tasks the UAC would give me.
Though this itself came with issues, I would have to prove myself capable of high effort without being an ideal candidate to become a T3 Advocate. I do not want to be anywhere near Lazarus' labs when this all goes down.
Damn, having to pre-plan for demonic invasion is very stressful, but at least it helps distract me from the thought of what happens if I'm one of the unlucky bastards who were immediately possessed when all hell breaks loose… am I allowed to joke about that? I'm one of the victims here so I'm pretty sure I am.
I would love nothing more than to ruminate on my existential dread for another fifteen minutes, but it seems like we are about to receive a message from our corporate overlords.
"Greetings Tier One Advocates! Today is the day you become part of something greater. The UAC is the pride of our planet, and you should be just as proud, as you join our number.
Here, you will be given an opportunity like no other, operating under the careful planning of Samuel Hayden himself. A man who may very well be the hero of our age."
Most of the lights go out, other than the one illuminating the man on the podium. The metal shielding on the starboard side (the right for all you laymen out there) begins to open revealing plexiglass windows and beyond that, an admittedly breathtaking view of the UAC base on the surface
The Argent Tower dominated the view in all its glory, one could almost feel the energy flowing around it as easily as it could be seen. The main Facility resting beside the base of the great monolith.
Across the trench from the facility was the Advanced Research complex, and it descended down into the earth, to where the Lazarus Labs undoubtedly lay.
Resource Operations was easily visible next to a large structure that must be the Foundry. And if one looked just a bit further one could see a small facility on the outskirts. Site 03, the Slayer's current resting place.
Lastly the massive connection rail leading out of the facility over the horizon to the closest pole, the location of VEGA's Central Processing.
"This is the UAC, this is where you will become the future of humanity, where you will sharpen your mind and do great things.
As Tier One Advocates you will start your time here in Resource Operations, where you will go through various career skills exams with several of our senior Advocates, from there they will determine where you will work most efficiently. You all scored greatly on your probational exams so we have high expectations for your performance tomorrow."
Seems like my technical memory will come in handy here, if I hadn't been given this... life? Body? I might have been in trouble.
It took some time but eventually the ship landed and we had all found ourselves on a train to Resource Operations. Some were looking at smart devices, branded by the same company under whose employ they now found themselves, some were sitting on the seating provided and some were excitedly bothering other people by gushing over their dreams of a doomed future.
Speaking of…
"-and I can't wait to find out what Tier Two Advocates get to do in the more advanced areas! What do you think you could be doing in a month? Working in development? Or are you more of a maintenance kind of guy? Oh! Maybe you're more interested in working in the Argent Tower itself?"
"Um, well i-"
"I mean personally I want to get into weapons development. I mean I've seen some of their rifles already, but if you've ever seen any of their sponsored dev casts you'd know they're now developing energy weapons with Argent plasma! We're reaching pew pew laser tech! The future is now!"
"Look, I can appreciate the enthusiasm Mr...uh.."
"Jake."
"Jake, I appreciate the enthusiasm, really. I'd even say I'm almost as much of a nerd about this as you, the tech? Fucking awesome, the place? Scenic for a rusty rock. But it was a long ship ride and I'm pretty exhausted. Do you mind saving this conversation for another time?
"Oh… yeah sure of course… its just I get nervous easy and 'nerding out' about this stuff really helps put my mind off it"
"Don't worry about it man... Hell, I know what it's like to want to put your mind off something."
"So uh.. I guess ill shut up now? I hope you don't mind chatting some other time. Oh! I didn't catch your name."
"Lucas Salt"
"Oh, then mine's Jake Donnahan, nice to meet you Lucas"
I decided to take the offered hand, as annoying as he was to begin with he did seem like a nice enough guy.
"Nice meeting you as well Jake. For what its worth I hope you get into the weapons tech. You seem to like it."
"Thanks man."
Something was strange. The servants had brought yet more potential offerings to the Threshold yet something was strange. It felt like there was something very important it was missing that it couldn't quite grasp.
It may not know now, but it will find out.
After we had arrived, we were directed to where we would be staying briefly. Unpacked all our belongings, got something to eat in the mess, and were basically told to take the rest of the day off to recuperate from the travel, and make ourselves ready for the career exams tomorrow.
Sitting in a small room with no personal effects and no stored data, nor contacts on my devices almost confirmed a suspicion of mine. This body wasn't...normal? There was no memory of any family, it had simply went through education systems monotonously, it was as though the body was on autopilot right up until I popped in.
Which...suited me just fine. Everything is going to go to shit in the next few years and the last thing I need is the guilt of not being able to save someone I'm supposed to care for using the meta knowledge that is my only strength.
….Damn I should have played the Eternal expansions. But then again that's the Slayer's job to worry about. I should be just fine, not knowing any of it.
A/N: Murphy will remember that.