The night before Dan’s day off, he got a restful six hours of sleep and for the first time he didn’t have Jane lecturing him or whooping his ass in training. In Dan’s mind, that made it all the more strange that he took a walk through the streets of Cerulean city and stopped by at the training facility.
He had contacted Jane beforehand and asked for a brief meetup to ask some question about his upcoming mission with Michael Cynosa. Jane reluctantly agreed, stating that even she was taken by surprise with his strange decision.
Dan walked through the same uninspired and arguable life-draining hallways of the facility before stopping at the briefing room, the same one where Chad had spoken to him the day before. He walked in and saw Jane sitting in one of the chairs, the same one she killed the armrest of. Dan couldn’t suppress his chuckle. It helped that he was off duty and he could be a bit more casual and relaxed.
“I haven’t seen you in civilian clothes,” Jane said. “Your fashion sense is barebones.”
Dan looked down and saw no issue with his black t-shirt and grey track pants. It wasn’t enough for Jane to criticize his tactics and skills as an agent but she also had to critique his choice in wardrobe as well.
“I can’t catch a break with you, can I?” Dan asked.
“Clearly not if you choose to meet with me on your day off,” Jane deadpanned. “Grab a chair and sit.”
As Dan grabbed a chair, a platform raised from the floor. The floor tile was being raised from the ground by interlocking metal stands and now they had a makeshift table. Jane got up and walked over to the table at the front of the room and grabbed the two mugs. Both of them sat down at the mini table raised between the two.
Jane set down a mug in front of Dan. “Here, have some tea. It’s specifically made to be nutrient rich.”
“Thanks,” Dan said. He took a small sip that devolved into him chugging the half the mug in one go. “This is great stuff.”
Jane flashed him the briefest of smiles before getting down to business. “So what did you want to ask about?”
Dan already knew what he wanted to ask, but was suddenly taken aback by Jane’s appearance up close. Jane was probably the most physically attractive woman Dan had ever met, which was no surprise since she was the marketing face of the Alpha Corp. Beauty always sells. Her long flowing brown hair was perfect, having no sign of split ends or dryness. Her skin appeared perfect, almost manufactured with no blemishes. Smooth as white cream. Dan had never seen what Jane looked like outside of her white armor, but he could reasonably assume she had an athletic build to match her tier three physical stats.
The most bizarre difference he noticed was her eyes. Jane’s normal eye color was a typical brown. But today, Dan stared at her hot pink irises. Dan had no clue how her eye color had changed since the day before her eyes were brown.
“Is something wrong?” Jane asked. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
It was rare for Dan to be at a loss for words when around women. Jane was simply in a league of her own in terms of beauty. Since she wasn’t kicking his ass in training, he had a better opportunity to be enthralled by her presence in front of him.
“Uh, I don’t remember your eyes ever being pink,” Dan said.
Jane looked at him as if finding out he didn’t know how to count past ten. “Seriously? That’s what you’re so focused on?”
Dan awkwardly shifted in his chair. Admitting to his squad leader that he was distracted by her eyes wasn’t exactly what he had in mind for this meeting.
“Well, I guess I sometimes forget that you’re still a teenager,” Jane shrugged. “If you must know, I’ll be attending a photoshoot in a few hours with the Alpha Corp’s media division. I had a brief procedure earlier this morning to change my eye color. I was told they needed my irises to be a different shade for these sets of images.”
Dan wasn’t surprised. Jane was apart of the Alpha Corp’s branding and marketing machine. What he didn’t understand was why Jane undergone such a cosmetic procedure when the shard could have just edited in her different eye color. Wasn’t that what all mainstream media did? Edit and alter images so that products and people looked their best, even if it was fake?
He presented that point to Jane and she replied with, “Just like my role as your squad leader, I take my role as the face of the Alpha Corp very seriously. You don’t know this, but I make it forbidden for the Alpha Corp to do any editing or alteration with my photos. You can manipulate the lighting and angles all you want, but my face remains untouched. Those are the conditions I ruthlessly enforce on the marketing division.”
“You have the kind of pull within the Alpha Corp?” Dan asked.
“When you get to my position of power, you get to make some demands and the shard has to meet you halfway and accommodate you,” Jane said with a smirk. “I forbid any photo manipulation so that when my admirers meet me in person, they will see that I’m not just authentic in my skills, but my appearance. The Alpha Corp sells its best to potential new recruits. Deception can only take you so far. And if the Alpha Corp wants my eye color to be different for a set, I’ll change my own eyes instead. I never yield on such things.”
Admittedly, Dan was distracted by Jane’s chosen shade for her new eye color. He could feel her hot pink irises pierce through him like a knife. Dan was so mesmorized that he didn’t see Jane’s incoming hand as it swiped him across the face.
The slap was impactful enough to nearly knock Dan off his chair, though he was surprised he didn’t go flying across the room considering Jane’s superhuman strength.
“Cut that out. That’s unprofessional,” Jane said. Dan looked at her and was confused at her smile.
“Sorry, that’s my bad,” Dan said. “But cut me some slack. You’re super hot, regardless of whatever you do to your eyes.”
Jane sighed. “It appears that not only do I have to train you in combat, but also how to maintain your composure around beautiful women. It would be quite embarrassing if an agent can’t keep it together around a woman who is half as good-looking as I am.”
Jane’s delivery was so dry and straight that Dan thought she was serious. But then Dan was weirded out by Jane’s abrupt giggling and her smile that barred her teeth.
“You’re creeping me out,” Dan said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you tease anyone like this. I thought you were stoic all the time.”
“That’s impossible, even for me. Even I need to have some fun every now and then. And you’re one to talk, coming from the one who’s been staring at me,” Jane said. “Besides, I’ve put you through the toughest trials for the past few weeks without any break in between. I think some playfulness is deserved.”
Dan shrugged and sipped his tea. “That’s fair.”
“However, this will be the last time I’ll correct you on your inability to control yourself around women. Beauty is no excuse to act like a fool around someone.” Jane leaned in and stared into Dan’s eyes. “If you fawn over me like this again, I’ll rip your spine from out your ass. If you’re going to be my equal someday, I need your conduct to be up to par as well.”
Dan was frozen by Jane’s threat. Knowing she had tier three physical stats, he knew it was no exaggeration that Jane could pull off such a gruesome killing move on him. He didn’t want to imagine how awful and horrific it would be to have his own spine ripped out from his asshole. It was probably worse than any bout of diarrhea.
Dan nodded profusely without saying a word.
“Good,” Jane said. “And don’t think you’re special. I had to give that exact same threat to Allen Draco when he was younger to get him in line.”
Exhaling, Dan noticed he had begun sweating from that over the top threat from Jane. He wiped his forehead while sipping more of his tea. Jane stood up and grabbed the kettle and waved it a bit, likely a nonverbal question to Dan if he wanted a refill. Dan raised his cup and Jane poured him more tea.
Dan put down the mug as he tried to recall the vague memories of Michael saving his life. “What do you know about Michael Cynosa?”
Jane’s expression remained as solid as concrete.
“I don’t think I told you about how I came to know him,” Dan said. “I was being chased by another little pocket of gangsters. I was doing pretty well taking on six to one odds. Then I took a machete to the back.”
“In other words, you let your guard down and paid dearly for it,” Jane said.
“Yeah. I was on the ground slowly bleeding out. Then I saw a bunch of assholes who looked like Kodak agents. All of them got blitzed and butchered by a man wearing white. I blacked out, but I can assume that Michael scooped me up and got me the medical attention I needed. He injected me with the latest enhancement serum and got me to where I am right now.”
Dan let his recount of events hang in the air before he said, “I want to know more about the man who saved my life and brought me here to become an agent.”
“I understand,” Jane nodded. “I have quite a few things to say about Michael.”
“Really now?” Dan said.
“Michael is the one who taught me everything I know now. All of the knowledge and techniques I’ve been drilling into you were at one point drilled into me by that man.” Jane reached down to her belt and pulled out the fancy hilt with no blade. “He gave me this as well.”
“Allen told me about that. So you have a glowing sword that can basically cut anything.”
“More or less,” Jane said. “Michael is a tier four agent, possibly one of the most powerful agents who ever lived.”
Dan’s eyes widened at such a comment. He assumed that Jane was as good as it got as far as rank.
“Is tier four the maximum rank for an agent?”
“As far as the Alpha Corp is concerned, yes it is. Tier four, level one hundred is the maximum rank of an agent,” she said. Twirling the hilt in her hand, Jane continued. “You want to see this blade in action?”
“As long as I don’t get cut,” Dan said.
Jane stood up and moved closer to the middle of the room. She held the hilt with both hands and pointed it upward at torso level. Dan watched in awe as the blade ignited. He watched the brief formation of the blade before it formed into its brilliant radiant pink shape.
“Holy shit,” Dan said. “Where can I get one of those?”
“You can’t. The viper fang swords were discontinued before they made it to mass production,” she said. “Before your HUD beats me to it, it's a nanotechnologically constructed blade.”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Come again?”
“The blade is dynamically forged on command into a solid. Nanoscale devices within the hilt make sure that the blade is lethally sharp and nearly unbreakable. I’ve chopped up enemy hovertanks with this blade without issue. It’s as easy as cutting air.”
“And no more of these swords were made because…?”
“The Alpha Corp bought out the company who was designing this sword. Our shard poured in the funding to help this new subsidiary make these blades into reality. Only three of these swords were ever produced before the main buildings of the company were invaded by the Church. The original research and other documents associated with the project were either stolen or destroyed.”
Dan sipped on what was left of his tea and then set the mug down on the table. “That must suck. I’m no investor, but if I put money into a project and it didn’t become big, I’d be pissed.”
“This brings us back to Michael,” Jane said. “Our very humble agent specializes in venturing into enemy territory to extract everything he could from our enemies. Spying, extraction of valuable artefacts, recruitment drives among disgruntled populaces of our rivals. Michael is trusted with these dangerous tasks.”
Dan tried to imagine what life was like for Michael. Constantly moving from place to place seeing new land, being sneaky and stealing valuable goods for the Alpha Corp, and simply being the one of the most powerful individuals on the planet as a tier four agent sounded like the ultimate power fantasy.
“I couldn’t do that sort of work,” Jane admitted. “I wouldn’t have the patience to see through such long periods being in enemy territory being undetected.”
“It’s that hard, huh?”
“I once took part in a mission to steal a prototype railgun from Kodak. I had to put up with Allen Draco for the entire mission back when he was an infantile hotshot. Not a great time,” she said.
Dan only just realized that this was possibly the first time he had a conversation with Jane that didn’t involve her giving him orders and strictly focusing on the mission. It felt too long since he last had casual conversations like this with his mom that didn’t involve worrying over scraps of food or being hunted down by predatory gangs.
“What was Allen like before?” Dan asked.
“I remember that mission since it was when Allen had recently ranked up to tier two. He thought he was the ultimate badass who could just shoot his way out of every situation. I remember him just fucking around with his newly obtained superhuman stats.” Jane looked down at the table and smiled. “I remember threatening him to jump down from the roof or else I’d shoot him. He obeyed but did a sommersault as he jumped. I’m thankful he cut that bullshit out in future missions. Now he’s a trusted teammate. Even friend.”
The two of them were quiet for a moment before Jane looked up at Dan with a steely expression. “Once you start working with Michael, I expect you to put in a hundred fifty percent. Michael is far harsher than I am.”
“Ah shit,” Dan couldn’t help but let out. “So in other words, I’m going to die. Well, it was nice knowing you Jane. Bring me the most expensive flowers you can buy for my funeral please.”
Jane snorted at the joke but quickly regained her composure and her face returned to her serious expression. “The five stat points you earned from our training. Allocate them, because you will need to be at your best when you work with Michael. I don’t want you to make me look bad.”
Dan nodded and pulled up his HUD. After a few seconds of staring into the air like an idiot, he decided which he would put his stat points into.
Strength: 20 (+3)
Agility: 20 (+2)
Congratulations. Your updated stats are now:
Strength: 23
Agility: 22
You have spent all of your stat points.
“Alright, it’s done,” Dan said. “I think that’s it. I should get going.”
“Good,” she said. “Remember that Michael was the one who vouched for you to be on my team. I wasn’t kidding around. You will do your best while under his command. It’s the least you could do for the man who brought you to me.”
Dan flashed his squad leader a grin. “I will Jane, even if it kills me.”
“One more thing,” Jane said. She leaned down and reached for something under the table. She placed a blocky, utilitarian-looking helmet on the table and slid it across to Dan. “Here’s the helmet that was supposed to come with your armor set.”
Dan smiled. “Thanks Jane.”
He drank the last bit of tea from his mug and stood up. He grabbed the helmet and as he walked towards the doors, they slid open to reveal Allen.
“Hey kid, I thought you had a day off,” he said.
“I am. I just stopped by to ask Jane some questions about Michael Cynosa.”
“Nice. Do your best Dan, you have high expectations to live up to. Learning from Michael Cynosa will fast track you into the elite. If it’s true that Michael was the one who trained Jane, I’m sure all of us would flunk his training program.”
“You would,” Jane said from across the room. “Dan here thinks he’ll die from what Michael has in store for him.”
“And if he doesn’t, he’ll come out even stronger as a result,” Allen countered. He patted Dan on the shoulder and said, “Good luck kid.”
***
While he was still in the facility, Dan checked out the armory to take a closer look at the new weapons and armor he could look forward to unlocking when he leveled up and earned enough credits. He stopped at the doors and they slid open. As Dan entered, he saw the same female attendant behind the front desk.
“Ah, Dan Orion. It’s been a while,” she said.
Dan nodded. “Yeah, Jane got me busy with training once we got back from that mission. I haven’t had the time to drop by and check out new gear.”
“I see. I’ll open the armory for you and you can check to see if anything interests you.”
He pulled up his HUD to check how much credits he had.
You have 15750 credits.
Another set of doors opened in front of Dan and he walked through the short hallway before he reached the armory. The same drab walls and metallic smell greeted him. He hadn’t been to the armory many times, but already he felt welcomed. Being surrounded by all kinds of firepower and armor gave Dan a strange sense of belonging and comfort. One day, most if not all of these guns, armor and other equipment would be in his personal collection.
Dan saw the many racks of rifles and other weapons as well as the supposed top picks from Alpha agents hung high up on the walls above the racks. This particular section of the wall was separated with a gold reflective surface along with their own mini lights to showcase each of these weapons.
The first gun was a familiar model.
ZK-77T assault rifle
Manufacturer: Emissary Armories
30 round magazine
7.62 x 57mm tungsten hollow-point rounds
Description: The newest version of the ZK-77, replacing the previous model. The main difference is the lighter weight by a full kilogram and its use of tungsten ammunition, ditching the older depleted uranium rounds. The tungsten hollow-point rounds are nearly just as effective without the hazardous radioactive concerns while also being cheaper.
Cost: 15000 credits | 100 credits per magazine
Trade-in bonus: Exchanging an old ZK-77 will give a discount of 5000 credits.
Dan could understand the need for an updated model. Any company would always look to cut down and streamline their products if it means saving money on production while still delivering the benefits to a customer.
“Hmm, I don’t know,” Dan said.
Dan continued looking up at the wall, getting a good look at the other popular weapons Alpha agents used. His HUD was generous enough to continue feeding him details. The next gun had a giant cylinder, presumably for holding grenades instead of regular ammo.
Deathdealer grenade launcher
Manufacturer: Emissary Armories
10 grenades per cylinder
40mm “power” grenades
Description: A heavily specialized grenade launcher specifically built to stop high-level agents in their tracks. The added concussive effect is effective at stunning enemy agents, even through energy shields, while also delivering an explosive yield the equivalent to several frag grenades. Most commonly used against other agents or covering fire. The launcher has a secondary mode that allows the grenades to be shot and planted into various surfaces with delayed detonation, ideal for setting traps.
Cost: 30000 credits | 750 credits for 10 grenades
Must be Tier 1 | Level 22 to unlock.
Staring up at the grenade launcher mounted at the top of the wall, Dan stood amazed at the firepower of the Deathdealer. He wondered how much easier his fights against Kate and Adam would have been if he had such a launcher in his hands.
The third gun hanging next to the Deathdealer was a much larger and elongated weapon. Dan noticed how much the weapon protruded out from the wall, indicating its thickness compared to the seventy-seven and the Deathdealer. He walked a few steps to the left to get a better look at the barrel of the gun, suspecting the barrel to be off center. When he got a better angle of this weapon, he noticed the dual barrels. Dan’s eyes also locked on the strange grills on the side of the barrel. His HUD pulled up even more ridiculous stats for the gun.
Blackhammer light machine gun
Manufacturer: Emissary Armories
200 round magazine
7.62 x 39mm tungten rounds
Description: A light machine gun that is the go-to gun for heavy weapon specialists designed for suppressive fire against enemy agents and dealing with light vehicles. The dual barrels ensure the highest fire rate possible for a weapon of this class and to keep the pressure on. Firing for prolonged periods will result in overheating. Excess heat must be vented manually by the wielder.
Warning: Recommended for tier two agents and above. Adequate strength and endurance stats are needed to properly handle the Blackhammer for extended periods without fatigue or injury.
Cost: 20000 credits | 500 credits per magazine
Must be Tier 2 | Level 25 to unlock.
Dan had only read the stats of three guns so far, and yetm he felt he could be in here all day reading up on the stats of each weapon in this armory. Something about guns simply appealed to Dan’s curiosity and excitement.
A fourth and final gun was slightly larger compared to the seventy-seven. It featured a drum magazine and had striking silver accents.
The footsteps behind Dan stopped and he looked over his shoulder to see the female attendant. “Do you like what you see so far?”
“Yeah,” Dan said. “Too bad I still can’t afford any of this stuff yet.”
“This is one of the primary motivators of all agents to strive to level up and earn more credits.” In her usual dark gaze, Dan notice a rare glint in her eyes. “It is a privilege to be trusted with these state of the art weapons and equipment. The Alpha Corp does not disappoint when it comes to the gear it supplies its agents.”
Dan looked back at the final gun hung on the gold section of the wall.
Z970 Rage automatic shotgun
Manufacturer: Nova Firearms
20 round drum magazine
12 guage plasma shells
Description: A deadly close quarters weapon that every agent should fear. Using powerful twelve guage plasma shells, such powerful rounds will burn and sizzle through most agent armor without energy shields and can tear open armored jeeps. One of the most dangerous close range weapons for any agent, no matter what rank.
Fun fact: The Rage shotgun was almost banned by the Alpha Corp for its excessive firepower until attacks by the Church of Nano-Evolution in Alpha-controlled territory became increasingly frequent.
Cost: 17000 credits | 750 credits per magazine
Must be Tier 1 | Level 22 to unlock.
Dan balked at the insane cost of the ammunition for the Rage shotgun. But thinking about it, such powerful shotgun rounds that could burn through armor and vehicles alike would likely be more expensive.
All of this firepower was amazing to read about, but without the funds to buy any of these guns, Dan wasn’t thrilled.
“Something wrong Dan?” the attendant asked.
“Well, all of these guns look badass and I’d love to buy some firepower, but I don’t have the credits yet. It’s sort of like admiring a stripper but you have no hands and your dick has been chopped off. It’s good to look at, but I can’t do shit. You get me?”
The attendant blinked at him and then awkwardly laughed. Admittedly, Dan probably could have used a much more tasteful analogy.
“I’m surprised that Jane Sunheiser tolerates such jokes,” she said.
Dan flashed her a grin. “She probably doesn’t, but she’s not here so it’s fair game.”
The two exchanged a few more laughs before Dan redirected his attention to the middle of the armory. A suit of armor inside of a display case caught his eye. The same suit of armor that the likes of Jane and Michael wore. Only the best of the best of the Alpha Corp were entitled to wearing this armor.
Dan saw the white long coat along with the white version of the bodysuit underneath. Held at the bottom at the feet of the mannequin, a helmet with the same shape and design as the one he saw in his strange dream rested on the floor of the case. The difference was that the helmet was white with black accents and a blue visor.
Dan pulled up the stats in his HUD to see any other details that Allen had missed when he was first introduced to this armor.
Tier 3 Alpha armor
Manufacturer: Source Technologies
Description: The pinnacle of armor for all Alpha agents. The Tier 3 armor is a balance of lightweight materials yet durable enough to survive a few direct shots from tungsten and depleted uranium rounds. The built-in energy shield module adds another layer of protection for an agent, allowing an agent to survive direct hits from rockets, grenades, mines, etc. The armor features self-repair capabilities, easily mending holes and other tears within the armor suit itself. The long coat is made from advanced nano-fibers and multiple layers that provide fire and electrical resistance and protection against small arms fire.
Cost: 50000 credits
Must be Tier 3 | Level 50 to unlock.
Dan gazed at the armor in the display case for longer than he should. He knew he was nowhere near the sufficient rank or funds to purchase this for himself. His next immediate step was to continue relaxing on his day off and survive the rest of Jane’s training before he was ready to go on more missions and earn more credits an experience to level up.
He turned on his heel and walked past the attendant and through the short hallway.
“I think I’ve seen enough,” Dan said. “I’ll need more time before I get something nice from this place.”