Leisure District
Mars
2232-08-12
1900
[Stop! Warning. Past this point, gravity plates have been installed following health guidelines presented by the Martian Health Bureau. The area past the line is providing 1g gravitational pull. 3 times of Martian gravity.]
Below it, another plaque read:
[Installation of grav plates on health and fitness Establishments is subsidized by the Martian government. The technology is provided by the Scions in support for the sustainment of healthy living across humanity within their habitats and worlds.]
To say that the feeling of going between two planes of gravitational forces was strange was an understatement. Looking down at the marked border, Marcus couldn’t wrap his head around how the plates recessed into the floor was able to magnify gravitational pull in a localized area. The change in gravity wasn't even a gradient effect, but an observable border.
“Is it weird that I get a bit of a chub whenever I go past the line?” Arthur asked, walking a step behind him.
“Yeah. That’s weird. Usually, I feel a bit dizzy like when you’re standing up quickly after sitting for a while.” Marcus replied, lazily lifting his arm up and flexing his fingers. They seemed sluggish, he could also feel his spine compressing from the added load and would have had him measure a bit shorter, making him stand at just shy of 5 foot 10. Feeling the slight sense of vertigo, Marcus headed to the side, waiting for the dizziness to pass as his heart rate increased to compensate for the higher G.
“You good?” Arthur asked.
“Yeah.” Marcus nodded, feeling better after a few seconds. “Didn’t get a chub there. Now that I think about it, its probably because your body knows which to prioritize, you know, the one making decisions.” He grinned.
“Ha. Ha.” Arthur said, flatly. They headed for the counter and scanned their IDs. Looking around, they could see few, but very fit individuals scattered along the gym. Marcus didn’t need to see them in their Sunday’s best to know that the same patrons on the gym were rich. The only reason they are able to enter and run their sessions is because the government have subsidized a substantial amount of their membership fee in order to help with their physical development. The special membership saved them from getting into the time slots allotted for the general masses, with a caveat that the two of them kept going to the gym at least twice a week and show measurable improvement. They were beeped in and the two headed out to the mats for a stretch and warm up after stashing their bags. “Been thinking about what I said?”
“Haven't been to the doctors yet, but according to the Internet, chance is high that I do have that shit.” Marcus said, sighing with relief as he felt his joint’s pop. “That, or I have cancer.”
“Probably cancer.” Arthur replied sarcastically.
Marcus grinned, moving over to the yoga mat. “What’s it like? Being shot I mean.”
“You know what they say about you not feeling it at first?"
"Yeah. Adrenaline, right?"
"Well, they don't fucking work that way in game. For me, it’s like someone punching you on the side, with the shields it’s like a quick push. Some reason about making it as realistic as playable, it’s there in the game EULA you signed, along with everything else people don't read." Arthur replied. "Don't know about you though. Even though the symptoms are the same, they all different in intensity. That's why you get yourself tested, and not just asking dudes about what they read."
"I'll find time." Marcus nodded. They went to the free weights section after limbering up and went ahead on their usual PPL split. Still fresh, Marcus started off with the bench press with Arthur spotting for him. He was also doing the push split for the day.
Looking at the empty bar, Marcus sighed, remembering the time when he had single plates just as warm up. It was still a bit more compared to his last visit, which made the it slightly better. Everyone had to start from somewhere. Finishing his sets, Marcus logged his weight every time noting the numbers slowly rise. It wasn't as fast as he would have wanted, but without quality protein, it was to be expected. Of course, he could take in gear, but doing so would still run him up to the same problem of quality food.
Maybe in half a year, he would be able to get his normal physique if he keeps up his current pace. In a month, or maybe a few weeks, his arms wouldn’t be shaking too much whenever he tries to push himself off the bed.
In the shower, two hours later. Nudity taboos were looser in the future making it normal to share an unpartitioned shower next to a stranger. Doing as the Romans do, they lathered up, washed the crusted sweat off their skin and headed for the sauna then for an ice bath. As the two sat in their tubs, Marcus noticed Arthur looking around to make sure that they were the only ones around.
“Listen. While you were out practicing, I did some digging. I asked around and word in the street is that our guy was having some one-way beef with some established guild. Some Martian pride type of guys and is probably one of the main reasons he’s willing to fork up some cash to finish his quest line. It's rare for one guy to piss off a guild enough for them to set up bounties so it’s easy to say that it’s about some unique quest. Information like that could cost a lot of…” Arthur trailed off rubbing his fingers together.
“You’re not telling me to rip him off, are you?” Marcus asked. Despite it just being a game, he gave Columbus his word and took his money. The thought of betraying someone just for some bit of cash is already putting a bad taste in his mouth.
“No, just a head’s up. If he were looking for protection, then he wouldn't have put up word for a low leveled player. My guess is that it’s some sort of requirement he needed to get to where he needed to be, might be some cat’s paw, but not as bad, since you’re getting paid.” Arthur replied, perking up. “You did get paid did you?”
“Half up front. I got a bank transfer for around five hundred Mercs.” He said. 517 MRC to be exact, it was equal to about 30 hours working minimum wage. It wasn’t enough to pay for the pod, but still much better than what he expected.
“Good. Good.” Arthur nodded. “You don’t have to cut me in since I already got my finder’s fee. Although I won’t be paying anything on this dinner, you did say you’ll buy me.”
“Not a problem.”
“Yeah, I’ll also be taking part on the first part of the quest, as backup for the two of you and bonus for our guy. I already got someone to cover my shift. Technically, I won't be on the quest since I won’t be joining the squad he’ll be setting up, but I’ll tag along until he wouldn't be needed anymore. You good with that?”
“Yeah.” Marcus nodded. “You said someone was gunning for him. Got anything else for me to know?”
Arthur shrugged. “As much as you can find with a casual search. SRT, short for Sable Rock Tunnelers. Big group, zerg, Chinese or Russian human wave type of shit, got that century of shame going on too. Got the numbers to throw around along with the resources to keep them fighting with alright gear. They like to make beef with earth groups, and PK whoever they find that’s from Earth, think they’re all pampered having been born there, but I think they're just jealous that they don’t have to breathe recycled farts. You and I could be on that same shit list but I don’t know, we might be too far disconnected to the earth now for it to be a problem. People will just think us having weird accents and nothing more since they can’t really place it. Although really big on the city up north, they don’t have a foothold around our area. In game, that is. Although I did see some members mucking about, it wouldn't be a tough guess that they're looking to expand."
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“So?”
“They shouldn’t be a problem. At least for now."
"You just said they got people around. How the heck are they not a problem."
"Its most likely that they're not there for him. Likely scouts. Thing is, Clan wars burn through a lot of resources, guns broken, bullets shot. Fun as they are with all the shooting, they're not that common and requires quite a bit of planning and preparation. Worst thing they could send for us is a hit squad, but that's why I'm coming along. Sadly, we haven't got the chance to get you some experience with PVP.” He said, shaking his head. “Just going to have to wing it. Just remember, keep moving, never get pinned down and remember that killing them isn’t the job, protecting our guy is. Of course, you can do that by wiping them out but that’s going to be a tall order while protecting your moneybag.”
“If I get him killed?”
Arthur shrugged. “Don’t know. He might break the deal, or not."
“So don’t get him killed?” Marcus asked sarcastically, grinning.
Arthur gave him a deadpan look, ignoring it. “Also, remember that protecting someone isn't just looking alert and having no sense of humor, or being fast enough when some asshole appears. It's making sure that danger wouldn't even get within sight of him. But considering that our guy is heading straight for the danger, well." He shook his head. "Just do your best. Shoot fast, shoot straight."
Marcus nodded. “So, how’d you think I should act around him?”
“I know it sound a bit stupid, but just be yourself." He replied, pausing. "Your professional self, and also, make sure to know when to shut up. Less likely to say something stupid when you don’t talk at all.” he then shrugged. "You didn't actually tell me about how it went down. I hope I wouldn't have to tell you not to forget networking with the guys you ran against since getting cool with some shooters is never bad. You might find yourselves on the opposite side of the firing line but that's just part of the game."
Marcus told him how the meeting went. how he came in early to try and talk with others only to be surprised to find the same girl giving him some advice his first day in game turned out to be the one he was going up against.
"Shit. if this was a love story, I would have told you that she's the one you’re going to marry. but given you, I'd expect her to be putting a bullet in your head the first chance she got."
"She actually turned out to be pretty cool to be honest. Pretty good sport about it given that I took the contract from her, even offered to hang out after I collected the wager."
"Hell yeah." Arthur smiled, leaning forward. "What did you win?"
"Just some in game cash, about some hundred merc's worth. probably thought she could take me given how I look like this in game."
"Thats one way to hustle someone." He said, just as the timer beeped and the two of them get themselves off the cold bath. Marcus was glad too, since he was starting to shiver and the two of them dried themselves before heading out of the gym. They both took their ID’s back, and headed out off the increased gravity zone and felt their bodies lighter. Down on the street, the two rubbernecked looking for someplace to eat when Arthur turned to Marcus.
“Ever had some genuine Martian cuisine?”
“No.” Marcus replied, “didn't even know that Martians have a cuisine, what, they put rocks in it or something?”
“It’s interesting for sure.” Arthur chuckled, leading the two of them down the street, and into some alleys where they found a restaurant. “How the fuck did you not even had one this long. What have you been doing? It’s like living in Japan and never having sushi.”
Marcus shrugged. “Between the physical therapy, shrink, and picking back the pieces left in my life, I didn’t really have that much time nor the energy to look for shit like Martian cuisine.”
“Well, you have time now, come on. Let’s get you try on some.”
Sitting inside, Marcus was quite surprised to find the store having some sort of old Western theme mixed with bits of Asian culture. The restaurant was playing some country music with the walls filled with hung pictures looking to date decades back. The food came, it looked red, chilis maybe, mixed with rice, meat and something spongy that was diced and mixed along with everything else. It was like Jambalaya, to which Marcus found out that the mystery addition was some mushrooms. A lot of it.
"Found any rocks yet?"
His breath hitched and coughed. The spice almost going down the wrong hole and he reached for a glass of water.
“It’s pretty good right?” Arthur continued.
“Yeah, pretty good. I just hope it don’t blow out of my ass by the time I get home.”
Arthur grinned. “You can start counting down now. That's going to start blasting out of your ass like a rocket launch.”
Marcus’s frowned, taking another spoonful. All the while giving Arthur the finger.
UNCS Light of the Stars
Vehicle Bay
2232-08-13
0700
The next day. Marcus logged back and found himself at the edge of the loading bay. He logged back in an hour earlier than he had agreed with Columbus. His employer had an itinerary planned out with an extra time allotted for last minute briefing on what they might find along the way and any equipment they would need. Marcus had his gear set up and ready to go. Despite him wanting to get to use the under-folder AK he wouldn't miss losing, the cramped confines of the expected location favored heavily for the MDRX Micro.
He liked the MDRX, although short, it was heavy, but well balanced. It was even shorter than an MP5 while still keeping the same punch of a short barreled ar-15. Some traning adjustments had to be made given that the magazine was behind the trigger and not in front. Still, nothing practice wouldn't fix.
A shout rang through the vehicle bay. Marcus looked over to find a player almost run over by a JLTV, being in the safe zone, he wouldn’t be hurt but it was still an unpleasant experience getting ragdolled out of the way or worse, caught underneath the tire treads and wait until the armored vehicle passed over your body.
“Checking out the competition?” Marcus looked over to the source of the voice to find Arthur, logging in on the dot. He wore his usual going out suit, the same camo pattern and gear but ditched his M249 Minimi and went for an M4 block II instead. The same make and model he gifted him a couple days prior.
“No, just logged in. How many of those do you have?” Marcus asked.
“Got these on the cheap, only had to spend a couple hundred rounds for three of them. Had to pick it up and lug it out of the red zone myself though.” He said, flashing his eyebrows. Turning towards the vehicles parked on the bay, he said. “Come on, there’s a catwalk giving a good view of most of the cars.” He said, jerking his head to the direction.
The catwalk was pressed against the hull of the ship, a thin rickety metal stairs led up to it which groaned under their combined weight but still held on. On top, Marcus could see far into the open area, even to the back of the vehicle bay where he could see some parked in states of disassembly with people milling about and sparks flying.
"That one. See that flag with the guy squatting with the bottle in front of him. Track assault squad. space Russians. Word around is that its run by some Russian mob guys or at least some old money oligarchs, which is why you can see their armored cars are all well maintained, having the best armor and guns in the game right now. Their base is north of the ship, next to the railyard. They have tight enlistment requirements with them needing someone to vouch for you first along with them knowing your IRL details. Which explains their low numbers making them being only situated to the region around the ship and nowhere else. They’re the exact opposite of a zerg.” He said, just as a convoy of dusty, rusted and bullet pocked pickup trucks came up the ramp and stopped in the middle of the bay. Men hopped off, taking off crates and bags before waving towards the driver. The cars rolled towards the back of the bay, presumably to be maintained.
“Martian Rangers. They’re cool. Closest we got to some real Americans. A bit stereotypical, but we take what we can get.” He said putting his fingers to his lips and blew a shrill whistle. The men below looked up and Arthur waved after them, which they waved back. Marcus noted the flag they flew which is a pair of m16a1s formed into a chevron over a sheriff badge over a field of red and blues. “Come on, let me introduce your ass. Bet you’ll feel right at home.” He said, leading the way down where the man he waved at met him in the middle.
The man with a Stetson hat, unsurprisingly, was named Cowboy. He wore a plaid polo shirt and jean pants and a jean jacket covering a low-profile magazine vest for the M14 slung on a leather sling hanging off his shoulder. On his waist, was an M1911 hanging off a leather holster secured on a leather belt with a large, shiny gold belt buckle.
'Arthur said they'll be a bit stereotypical, but damn." Marcus thought to himself.
After shaking hands, Marcus got introduced. He kept the names on the back of his head as he exchanged greetings and noticed the fake Texan accent. After being introduced that he was like Arthur, Marcus was bombarded with inane questions about how it was back then. It was like a blur; Marcus simply answered the best he can to which everyone seemed to be content and looked to be eager to hang out again.
Arthur then sent him a glance, a glint in his eyes told Marcus that he's up to something.
"Hey man, when are you getting off?" Arthur said, finding a lull in the conversation.
"Still got plenty of time." Cowboy replied.
"Tell you what. How about we all go for a friendly round? I need to get Hartdegen here try on some PVP before we get out and about. 'sides, we also got a few things to bet that some of you might be interested in. Would be good to throw that in and make it more interesting."
Cowboy looked over to the other men around him. "Music to my ears. Same set up? Cash for PETA?"
"PETA?" Marcus whispered to Arthur.
"Name I gave to my hunting rifle. Killed a lot of animals." Arthur winked.
"You sure about this? I thought you'd just teach me in the range but throwing me right into a fight is not something I expected."
"Don't worry about it. We'll be fine. They won't mind losing some money." Arthur said, grinned. "See those leather gear. They’re premium cosmetics allowing them to change some select gear. That means they're fine with spending a bit as long as they're having fun. I rate them above the average player, so they'll be good practice."