Now
Actryarius dove off of Resplendent Zabriium’s back. They were on a collision course with the secret boss monster’s legs. Their power armor lacked anything in the way of enhanced durability, which meant that they were about to go splat against the hard, crystalline surface.
It looked like an impending disaster until Actryarius activated their power armor’s ability. One that defied all known Threnosh science. They appeared to flicker and shimmer. Their entire body became translucent as they passed right through three of the large crystalline legs.
They emerged to the rear of the monster and shimmered back into solid form as they hit the ground in a roll. They came to their feet in one smooth motion and ran.
The monster turned to give chase when three muffled explosions shook the right side of its body. It stumbled and fell as three of its legs buckled and then shattered.
Resplendent Zabriium came around and picked up Actryarius on their way back. The maneuver was perfectly executed.
Caretaker made use of a key aspect of Actryarius’ ability to phase their physical body into an intangible state for brief moments. Namely, they were capable of extending the effect to small objects in their hands. In this case, they phased through the monster’s legs while leaving behind a small, but powerful explosive grenade.
The internal damage they caused was enough to break the legs when the monster placed its considerable weight on them.
“Focus projectile fire on the left side legs.”
Primal opened up with the minigun on their shoulder.
Dralig wielded two miniguns with their four arms and enhanced strength that allowed them to bear the weight of the enormous ammunition pack on their back.
“Frequency, get your mobile emitters into position. Once its mobility is further compromised you will have your opportunity.”
“Acknowledged. I think I have just the sound to start cracking this monster.”
“Kynnro, Salamander, Adjudicator stand by.”
Caretaker watched as the concentrated fire from three miniguns sent crystal chips flying in the air. However, it still wasn’t going down.
The monster staggered with its right side reduced to one whole leg and three partially broken ones. Yet, it still came on like magma flowing down a volcano’s slopes. It was slow, but inexorable, unstoppable.
“Ammunition is at critical levels,” Dralig said.
“The same,” Primal added.
The damage wasn’t enough. The monster’s legs were cracked and chipped in dozens of places, but they were still holding.
Caretaker took aim with their recoilless rifle. Their predictive algorithm came to life as if it was responding to their unconscious thoughts. It took three seconds for a firing solution to appear on their face-plate. Three spots to target.
Three shots. One after another with impossible accuracy.
When the monster placed its weight on those three legs they shattered into pieces.
“Monster is disabled.” Caretaker raised their rifle. “Frequency, deploy mobile emitters.”
At Frequency’s direction the eight disk-like emitters floated down into position around the monster. Once in position they created a field of ultrasonic sound that was barely perceptible through their helmets’ auditory sensors.
The effect was immediate. The cracks already all over the monster’s body grew larger, expanding to create intricate fractal patterns. It reached out for the emitters, but they were out of range. It moved in an attempt to get clear of the field, but it was slowed to a crawl with most of its legs shattered.
Ultimately the monster did what it had been doing the entire time. It resumed its plodding course toward the Threnosh. As it drew closer its facial features became clear in the harsh glare of the artificial lights that illuminated their position. Or rather, its lack of features was displayed.
The monster had a head, but where a face should’ve been was blank, flat and featureless. There were a few cracks from their attacks. What was noteworthy were the several long, blade-like crystalline fingers that fanned out from the back of its head like an obscene halo. They wriggled and stabbed at the air independent of each other.
“I can only maintain this sound for thirty more seconds,” Frequency said.
Caretaker’s head swiveled from the monster. “Our projections called for at least one minute and twenty seconds more.”
“Apologies. Moving my emitters in concert to keep the field intact with the monster in the exact center for maximum effectiveness is draining more of my energy than anticipated.”
“Very well.” Caretaker leaned on their predictive algorithm to factor in the unexpected development for a new course of action. In ten seconds they had a new plan. It wasn’t much different than the original plan. It was just more dangerous for their team. “Kynnro, deploy an ash cloud around the monster. Once Frequency’s emitters are clear ignite it and keep feeding the flames. Use all of your remaining canisters. Salamander, you are on standby.”
Kynnro launched a canister from their gauntlet. It exploded over the monster and showered ash-like particles down. Some of the particles settled inside the innumerable cracks on the monster’s body. The majority hung in the air as they slowly drifted to the ground.
The moment that Frequency pulled their mobile emitters out of the cloud. Kynnro fired a red laser beam from their helmet’s forehead.
The dim red light was swallowed by the bright explosion as the entire particle cloud was ignited.
“Again.” Caretaker timed the order to the exact millisecond that the fiery cloud burned out.
Kynnro launched another canister, which was followed by a laser shot.
The monster burned four more times. Its crystalline surface was blackened. Entire chunks flaked off of its body with each ponderous step it took toward the Threnosh.
“I am out of canisters,” Kynnro said.
“Well done. Fall back. You have done your part,” Caretaker said. “Salamander, keep it as hot as you can.”
The Threnosh in the draconic-looking power armor rushed toward the monster. They needed to get close to apply the maximum destructive capability of their flame.
The monster struck out at Salamander with a hammer-like fist half the size of the Threnosh.
It was too slow for the agile Threnosh.
Salamander ran under the limb and right into an unnoticed trap as they charged closer to the monster.
Two long, thin crystalline-arms shot out from the lower portion of the monster’s torso. They were humanoid in form and function with four bladed fingers and one bladed thumb.
One hand grabbed Salamander around the head, while the other sparkled in the light as the monster brought it up, ready to slash down.
A sustained burst of projectile fire struck the bladed fingers before they could descend on Salamander. The fingers chipped, then finally broke as the shots tracked the hand’s movements with unerring accuracy.
Caretaker emptied their recoilless rifle’s magazine to give Salamander the time they needed to extricate themselves.
Salamander pried the hand from around their head. The enhanced strength of their power armor proved stronger than the monster’s secondary limb.
With their head freed they let loose with a breath of fire from their power armor’s dragon-like maw. The white-hot flames washed over the monster’s front. The crystalline surface near the epicenter of the sustained flame melted and ran down to drip on the forest floor. The rest of the monster’s body started to glow. The accumulated heat had finally reached a temperature that was too much for it to take.
Salamander’s flame sputtered and disappeared. They coughed out a thick black smoke as they quickly backed away from the wounded monster.
“Adjudicator, drain it.”
Flexible, metallic tendrils lanced out and wrapped themselves around one of the monster’s giant arms. The arm jerked back and Adjudicator went flying with it. They held on with their tendrils and began the process of draining the monster’s life force.
The monster dashed the Threnosh repeatedly into the ground, but the damage repaired itself almost as quickly as it was dealt.
“Are they going to be okay?” Primal grunted in Caretaker’s direction.
“Yes.” Caretaker knew from the information provided by their predictive algorithm that Adjudicator was capable out sustaining the damage for at least three minutes and twelve seconds longer. At that point the monster’s life force would become too low to drain, while it would still be capable of dealing out damage. They calculated that Adjudicator only needed to keep up the drain for two minutes and twenty-nine seconds for the plan.
The monster yanked Adjudicator toward its head. It tilted its head down to meet Adjudicator with the numerous blade-like fingers that ringed the back of its head. They stabbed into the Threnosh’s thickly-armored back.
“How about that?”
Caretaker ignored Primal. They kept one eye on the countdown in their face-plate and one eye on Adjudicator as the monster stabbed them repeatedly.
It seemed to take forever for the timer to reach zero.
“Primal, I need you to distract it,” Caretaker said. “Adjudicator, use the distraction to withdraw,” they said into the comms.
“Acknowledged.” Adjudicator’s words were strained.
“Finally.”
Primal’s giant power armor lumbered on steps that shook the ground as they charged toward the monster.
The monster punched out with the arm that was free of Adjudicator’s tendrils. Primal parried it away with an arm that was even thicker than the monster’s. They barreled right into the monster. They pressed the three chainsaw-like blades that rotated around their left arm into the monster’s lower torso. The circular saws roared to life and sent crystalline chips flying. The monster’s smaller arms were caught up in the whirring carnage and were ripped and shredded.
Adjudicator used their tendrils to pull themselves free from the blades in their back. They timed the move with the monster’s desperate attempt to push Primal away from them. The Threnosh managed to slingshot themselves clear of the titanic brawl.
The cracks on the ruined surface of the monster’s body continued to grow larger with each thunderous punch that Primal landed. The monster gave as good as it got. Its hammer-like fists dented the thick armor plates that covered Primal’s torso.
Primal shoved the monster back and the armor plates on their stomach slid open to reveal twenty-one barrels. They fired four volleys back to back that sent the monster reeling.
Caretaker’s scanners showed that the heat within the monster hadn’t dissipated in the least. In fact it was only building as whatever internal system it ran on, biological, mechanical or something else was being pushed to its limits by their onslaught. Their predictive algorithm indicated that it was time to end things. The monster’s entire structure was now brittle enough. However, it needed the perfect strike at just the right spot.
“Primal, fall back,” Caretaker said.
The tiniest Threnosh in the largest power armor grumbled, but complied with the order.
“Zabri, target this exact point.” Caretaker sent the information over to Resplendent Zabriium. “Full speed. I calculate that the impact force is well within your trueskin’s tolerances.”
“Acknowledged.” A single word, yet there was a clear sense of excitement from Resplendent Zabriium. They thoroughly enjoyed running as fast as they could. For some reason, they also enjoyed plowing into their enemies. The opportunity to combine the two was wonderful.
Their power armor was suited to the task. It was like a cross between a centaur and a unicorn. It was the only the size of a pony, but its six limbs, four legs and two arms, were thick and strong. Just like the armor plates that covered them.
Resplendent Zabriium ran away from the monster for two hundred meters before they turned around and charged. They needed the extra space to get up to their maximum speed, which was over three hundred kilometers an hour. The wind whipped at their body as they thundered across the forest floor. Great clouds of dirt and debris were kicked up in their wake.
The target point was circled in red on their face-plate’s display. It was right in the middle of the monster’s lower torso, near the ruined remains of its two smaller arms.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
As Resplendent Zabriium hit the thirty meter to the target mark the lowered their upper body to bring the blade-like horn on their helmet’s forehead in line.
The distance was wiped out in an instant at the speed they were traveling. The impact jarred them worse than anything they had experienced before. However, Caretaker was right, they weathered it just fine. Their power armor’s structure held without any major damage, while the internal dampeners kept their biological body safe.
The monster didn’t fare as well. The crack at the point of impact spread out and connected to the numerous other cracks on its body. It shattered and crumbled in a cascade of structural failures. When it was finished the only thing that remained was an immense pile of crystalline ruble.
Caretaker scanned the pile. There was only one thing that read as active. The rest were dead, inert crystals. They walked over and pulled the core out of the mess.
A chime sounded in Caretaker’s ears. The voice and text of the Task completion notice appeared. They read it quickly then dismissed it. Their tasks weren’t completed. One secret boss defeated, one spawn zone reverted. There were several more to deal with. At least with this area cleared and no longer adding monsters to the horde waves their base’s supply of ammunition was stretched for several more days. They could rest and rearm without worrying about the eight day deadline.
“Task is complete,” Caretaker spoke into the comms. “Requesting immediate transport back to base.”
----------------------------------------
“That’s four secret bosses defeated and four spawn points cleared in just as many days,” Cal said. “Impressive!”
He stood in the expansive power armor hangar that had grown in the six months since the project’s inception from five berths to nineteen. With the end to the horde mode they had been facing all of the special candidates were in the hangar. The wall defenses were left to their small contingent of regular soldiers.
Their power armors were in varying states of disrepair as the engineers, fabricators and technicians swarmed over them. Cal noted that Dralig’s was missing both of its lower arms, while Primal’s external armor had been stripped completely off. From the damage to the plates it looked like a complete loss. Fortunately the uppermost layer of armor plating was strictly of Threnosh make and not the expensive type purchased directly from the spires’ marketplace. It would be easily replaced and Primal would have no cause to complain about expending their Universal Points.
“Although, it looks like that last secret boss did a number on the team.”
“Yes,” Caretaker said.
Their armor was undamaged, aside from some dirt around their boots and a splattering of monster blood on its surface.
“How tough was it?”
“The Hell Gorilla, as you dubbed it, combined strength, durability and toughness beyond any of the other secret bosses. They were either quick, but relatively fragile, or strong and durable, but slow,” Caretaker paused, “it was a close thing.”
“Well, the important thing is that you handled it perfectly. No one died. Good experience and Universal Points.”
“Agreed. However, I regretfully request a period of rest for the entire team. These last four days have been taxing.”
Cal smiled. “Granted. You’ve earned it! Besides, things around here should quiet down and no outbound tasks to worry about will give me a chance to really get into that kaiju core. I want to get a good look with our scientists before Prime Custodian 3’s scientists get here. There’s something strange going on with it.”
“I do not understand.”
“It’s just this feeling I’ve got in my bones, so to speak,” Cal said lightly. “I’m willing to bet that it’s not as it appears on the surface. Almost like it’s calling to me. Tickling the edges of my thoughts.”
----------------------------------------
Then
Roughly two and a half years after the spires appeared on Earth and changed everything
“Twice! This has happened twice this month!” Councilwoman Devon glared daggers at Cal. “What are you going to do about it?”
“It’s dead. I cut its wings to shreds. Its back broke when it hit the ground and then I stabbed it in the brain,” Cal said flatly.
“Yes and we’re grateful for your efforts to safeguard our community.” Councilman Scott’s eyes glanced at Devon for the briefest instant.
Cal didn’t need telepathy to know that after over two years on the council with Devon, the man was growing more exasperated with her tendency to be dramatic. It was as if she still thought the council meetings were being recorded, like they were in the pre-spires days. Someone needed to remind her that the cameras weren’t running anymore.
“With that said,” Scott continued, “there does seem to be a worrying trend to these, uh, wyverns, is that right?” He looked back to his aide, who was seated in a plastic folding chair against the wall. “I believe these monsters were given that name by your brother before he left our community.”
Cal wasn’t going to take the bait by replying, so he simply looked at the councilman and waited for him to get on with it.
Scott cleared his throat. “Our people are concerned that these monsters might start attacking within city limits. Perhaps it’s a good idea to find wherever they are coming from and deal with it the same way we dealt with the high school and its gremlins.”
We, in this case, certainly sounded like Cal.
Cal wasn’t in favor of that idea.
“A few facts,” Cal said, “First, the wyverns aren’t going to attack within city limits. Both of the ones I killed were staying clear of the boundary. Based on information from the spires, I’m thinking that something keeps the monsters from outside of the cities and towns from coming in. Whether it’s some kind of physical barrier we can’t detect or something psychological, I don’t know.”
“The theory is that it has something to do with this ten-year tutorial period, for lack of better word, that we’re in,” Remy said.
The fact that no one around the table scoffed or even blinked at him describing their world in terms that were more fitting to talking about games said a lot about their adaptation to the new reality. Humans were an adaptable sort. Over two years of living in a spires’ dominated world had a way of forcing a person’s views to change.
“Right, so we’re probably safe from the wyverns and anything else out there until the ten years are up,” Cal said. “Plus there are a lot of square miles in the spaces between cities. It’s an inefficient use of my time and energy to search through it for something that isn’t an emergency issue.”
Devon fumed in her seat. The councilwoman hated him on a deeply personal level. Cal maintained a professional relationship with the rest of the council and the other leading figures of their community. The majority didn’t like him on a personal level. This he knew and didn’t care much about. All he cared about was that most of them could put aside that enmity to work with him for the betterment of their greater community.
“If someone has a good idea about locating a potential nesting site for these wyverns. Then we can put a plan together to clear it.” Cal decided to throw in a concession. “Without unnecessary risks to personnel,” he added. The last thing he wanted was them sending out scouting parties. It would’ve been the younger people. They were the ones with useful classes, skills and magic for such a mission.
“Seems to me that there wouldn’t be any risk to send you out.” The colonel’s voice was like gravel being ground down. The man didn’t say much, so when he did it drew everyone’s attention.
Wayne Johnson was over sixty and had been long-retired from service. He was pressed into taking over the general command of the community’s fighting force, which evolved to become the Watch, as it was called now. He was mostly hands-off on daily operations. Demi Lawrence, Police Officer, handled that.
Colonel Johnson really didn’t like Cal. Thought him a traitor to the country for not following orders from what he considered the lawful government. Cal hadn’t needed to rely on telepathy to find that out. The man had practically spat it to his face with the look in his eyes.
“It’d be a mistake to send out scouting teams if the plan was to intentionally place them in danger to force me to go save them,” Cal said in his mildest tone. He stared impassively into the colonel’s hard eyes.
“We would never intentionally place our valued defenders in danger,” Scott said hurriedly.
Cal didn’t remind the man that was exactly what they did every time they sent people up against monsters. The was the inherent nature of any soldier. They existed to be put into dangerous situations for the benefit of others. Whether it be king, country or loved ones. As far as he was concerned the last reason was the only good one.
Colonel Johnson made a noise in his throat.
Cal figured that maybe some of that gravel he was chewing on went down wrong.
“I’m not going to waste lives,” Colonel Johnson said.
“Why don’t we table the wyvern issue for now,” Scott said. “As long as they stay outside of the city limits then we’ll be okay for now… but,” he held up finger at Devon, who was about to say something, “we’ll need to keep a closer watch on them and other monsters outside of our city.”
“We can do that.” Colonel Johnson looked over at Demi.
“We’ll increase patrols around the city limits,” she said curtly.
“Does the Watch have enough people for that?” Scott said.
“It’ll be a little tight, but recent recruitment levels has given us enough personnel to do this,” Demi said.
“Good. As always, your efforts are appreciated.” The councilman smiled at Demi, who stared at him without expression. “I suppose it’s a good time to turn things over for your report.”
Demi looked over her notes briefly. “There was nothing noteworthy in this week’s patrol incidents. All were summarized and included in the memo I gave you. We continue to monitor both high schools and clear them of any monsters on a daily basis. So far there have been no signs of them turning into spawn points or encounter challenges. No messages from the spires. The only incident of note was the wyvern, but that’s already been discussed. If I may add my input on that matter. I don’t think any of my people should be going out searching for their spawn point or nest, whatever you’re going to call it,” her eyes settled on Cal.
“Thank you, Captain Lawrence,” Scott said. “Now on to the next item on the agenda. There have been some concerns about noise along D Street, the block close to 5th Street. I believe that is where a portion of the Watch is being housed. Is that corr—?”
The door to the meeting room burst open and a young woman came running in. She made a beeline straight for Colonel Johnson and Demi. She whispered something into their ears in a burst of frantic energy.
Cal could tell by the excited look on all of their faces that it was something big. Not necessarily bad, since he wasn’t sensing outright fear from them.
“Well?” Scott looked miffed at being interrupted and left out of the loop.
Cal hid his smirk. The councilman really didn’t like not being the center of attention. It was something that Scott had in common with Devon.
Demi looked to the colonel, who nodded. “People from Sacramento. They’re at the bridge and they want to talk. Claim that they’re from the government.”
The table was silent for several beats until it erupted into voices all talking over each other in their haste to be heard. There were excited questions, denials and suspicion.
“Quiet!” Cal banged his fist on the table. He inclined his head toward Demi. “Do you have more details? Like numbers? Weapons? Physical appearance? What're they wearing? What do they look like?”
“Mix of people in Sac PD tac gear and military combat harness,” Demi paused, “and a guy in a suit. They drove up in three Humvees with fifties mounted on top and a white flag.”
“White flag, huh? Sounds legit,” Cal said. He wasn’t convinced.
To his surprise the colonel agreed with him for once. “Doesn’t mean anything. Anyone can raid the armory and loot some uniforms and gear. We need to verify their identities before we do anything else.”
“Agreed,” Scott said quickly. “What do you suggest?”
“Talk to them. Send a small group. I figure you Cruces boys should do the trick,” Colonel Johnson turned a baleful glare on Cal and Remy. “Things get hot… well, you’re all supposed to be bulletproof anyways.”
“What if they have powers or magic?” Devon was scared. She did a terrible job of concealing her inner thoughts for a politician.
“Doesn’t matter, a weapon is a weapon. Whether it’s a bullet or a fireball, makes no difference,” Colonel Johnson said.
Cal begged to differ, but clarifying the difference wasn’t important at the moment.
“We’ll go,” Remy said. He silenced Cal’s protest with a look. “Obviously, you’ll probably want to come along,” he looked at Scott, “as a representative of our local government. And I’m sure that the Watch will want to have a presence,” he nodded at Demi. “If they’re going to have their muscle, then so should we.”
“Might be a trap,” Cal said. “Get you out on the middle of the bridge and snipe you.”
“I can set up a magnetic field around everyone. Automatically catch any bullet or arrow.”
“Sure, if they’re metal,” Cal shrugged. “They might hit you with a fireball.”
“I’ll have a couple of people with me that might be able to handle that,” Demi said. “We’ll take a truck. Me plus four of the Watch and you two,” she nodded at Cal and Remy.
Cal raised a brow at that. He hadn’t been planning on inviting himself. Remy volunteering to join had changed that. He wasn’t about to stay away if his brother was going to be at risk. Although the initial sketches of the plan he was drawing up in his head was to use his telepathy to mask his presence and stay back from the meeting. Far enough away to escape easy notice, but close enough to catch any tricks from the other side.
“That works,” Remy said with a look at Cal. “Between us, we should be able to catch any dirty tricks.” He knew how Cal thought.
“Sure, why not,” Cal said.
“Great!” Scott looked up from whatever he was ferociously scribbling on his notepad. “Jen will go to represent the council.” He tore the paper loose and handed it back to his shocked aide.
“Oh you chickenshit,” Cal muttered under his breath.
“Stick to the script,” Scott continued. “Don’t commit to anything. Ask those questions. If they don’t want to answer then that’s okay, don’t force the issue. This is just the feeling out part of the negotiation process. We need to see what they want first before we can craft a response.”
Cal felt bad for the young woman. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and she visibly swallowed the lump in her throat as she accepted the small sheet of paper in her shaking hands. Politicians were the worst. Scott was perfectly capable of going, instead he was sending out a young woman, who in a normal world would still be in college. The rest of the council wasn’t any better.
One would think that such a dramatic moment as a tense diplomatic meeting in the middle of the bridge was the perfect, dramatic center of attention-type event that Devon salivated over. Except the danger was real and she’d never do anything willingly to put herself into such a situation.
There was one exception. Cal had to give the old man a pass. Councilman Smith was ancient. He had served in local government for longer than Cal had been alive. That he was still pretty sharp mentally and was generally a decent guy that wanted what was best for the community made him the most tolerable out of the bunch.
“I think we’ll end this meeting on that. Good luck everyone!” Scott said and promptly stood up from his chair and strode out of the room.
The rest of the council followed suit just as quickly, except for Mr. Smith, who hobbled out on his walker. Cal reached out with his telekinesis and made the burden on the man’s bones easier. He helped the old man all the way out to the car waiting to take him home.
“I’d like a word with you, Cruces,” Colonel Johnson said.
“I know,” Cal said.
Remy frowned, but Cal waved him away.
The rest of the room cleared and it was just Cal and the grizzled old soldier. They sat at the table in silence and stared at each other for several long seconds. Cal waited for the man to talk. He recognized a test of wills when he was in one. He wasn’t going to let Colonel Johnson’s old military tactics phase him.
“I don’t like you,” Colonel Johnson graveled. “All that power in one person is bad enough. To have it in someone that refuses to obey lawful orders and has no loyalty to the country that he owes his very way of life to is a bomb waiting to go off. You’re a threat to everything that I spent decades of my life fighting to uphold.” He took a deep breath. “But you haven’t done anything yet to force my hand, so long as you keep being a net benefit to this community I can tolerate your existence.”
“How magnanimous of you,” Cal said. He was tempted to add that the colonel was generally correct about his lack of loyalty to the country and the insubordination. Except, was it truly insubordination if he hadn’t taken any oaths to obey orders from random city council members, police officers or retired military people? Loyalty to country? He obeyed laws and paid taxes when those were still a thing. That was all he owed as far as he saw it. His attitudes hadn’t changed since the spires appeared. The only difference now was that with his powers there was nothing anyone else could do to force him to obey them.
There was something ironically humorous in everyone still expecting that they could order him around as long as they had a badge or a fancy title. They got upset when he didn’t follow along and then they promptly accused him of placing himself above them. The cognitive dissonance of their projection was something else to see firsthand.
Cal stood from the table without further word. There was no point in debate with the colonel. The grizzled vet was set in his ways. No amount of logic and truth would sway his opinions.