System Initialized!
Congratulations. Through your actions you have proven yourself worthy of becoming one of the Vanguard, a defender of humanity. I am Bzzt!@#^&**. I will assist you to uplift humanity so that you may defend your homeworld from the Antithesis threat!
Rise,
, and become a protector of the weak!
Val scrambles to put the shipping container between her and everything else again. Her head is splitting from the recoil and volume of holding down the trigger that long… Everything is a dizzying amount of pain.
Oh- Oh my. Oh gosh. Y-You’re?! Miss, are you alright? You’re not alright. Ooooh~ you shouldn’t be here.
The voice, if she can call it that, is high pitched and raspy- and it’s not from any family member, past or present, that she knows of. Val spares one hand to grip at her head. Whimpering, she huddles close against the container and prays for everything to stop.
Something pulls at the back of her mind. No-no-no, this… this is bad. Where is your profile? Why- why were you not in the screening process… We shouldn’t be here.
“[God?]” Val dares to humor her morbidity.
What?! NO! Oh no! No, I’m not- Ahem. No, I am a personal A.I. heh~ Definitely not god.
“[Somehow… that makes me feel worse.]”
Miss. I’m not certain how you could feel worse. Your vitals- I mean- Well- Huuu-huuh~. The voice seems to stumble. Val can almost feel a shared sense of dread. Well, I have seen lower numbers before. Briefly. But, let’s not dwell on- Oh no.
Just as Val’s head starts to clear and the voice becomes bearable, her body reconnects to the rest of her senses. Ones that were drowned out by adrenaline and a hammering heart-
Scratching all around her is incessant and loud enough for her to feel. Val looks down to see a carpet of worms working across the concrete. Her scream has more heart in it than she thought she could muster on her best day.
Warning! Antithesis threat detected. Incursion imminent. Please proceed to your nearest shelter.
The words crash through her mind in a completely different voice than she was just arguing with. That same standardized monotone of the initiation message. All these details and many more rush out of her mind as Val runs to try and get away from the tide of horror cascading over the barricaded entrance.
Miss. Please run. If you can- Safely! This area is a veritable buffet for the Antihesis. The collapsed city ruins are full of material they thrive off of. You have to get away.
“[What the hell does it look like I’m trying to do!]”
Yes. Well. I understand but- Please stop! Don’t go any further THAT way-
Val stumbles at the sudden forcefulness, like a vice crushing her brain inside her skull. The AK slips from her hands to clatter onto the ground and she wrenches her eyes closed at that very moment, expecting the worst… The gun lays still. No misfire- “[Thank heavens.]” she mutters out of reflex.
Don’t thank anyone just yet…
The skittering swarm ahead does not account for a much louder rhythm of clacking behind her.
Val looks over her shoulder to see a massive sectional bug-like creature dragging out corpses from their resting places. Her heart-rate returns to it’s highest setting.
That, is a Model 8-
Before the AI can finish, Val desperately crawls back to grab the rifle. She whirls on the creature and squeezes the trigger as hard as she can. Shots ring out, blaringly loud, and some do hit the Model 8.
*click-
*click, click, click
The rifle doesn’t respond.
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The creature lumbers off with a few dragging feet, continuing on it’s set duty of collection.
Miss. I would advise you get up quickly. The Model 7s are still-
“[Why…]”
Hopeless and hollow, the word lingers.
Val feels a part of her sink- not in reality, but something in her mind. Drug down without warning into a cold, dark, abyss.
Miss. You… You have been selected to be a Vanguard. A protector of humanity. You are vital to combat the Antithesis threat and uplift humanity.
Val picks herself up, uncharacteristically proud, and hobbles over away through the tide of worms. Something seems… off. They move closer, but not towards her. Just around her. Like they have something better to do.
“[Hmph. Some protector.]” she waves the barrel of the gun lazily at the Model 7s. “[I’m not even good enough for the fucking worms.]”
N-No. You are. You were chosen.
“[To do what? Die in a hole in the ground? Tell that to all of my family members.]” Val turns to wherever the hell that one big thing went. “[I should probably just follow them, huh? Get it over with?]”
Again, that feeling of sinking- of shrinking, nags at her brain like an itch she can’t scratch. Please don’t say that. Each and every life matters. With my help, we can get you out safe. You have a number of points allotted to you as part of the initialization as well as your first target destruction. You currently have 110 points to spend- and I want to stress the importance of the Class I Medical utilities for your current condition.
The words… seem real…
Val makes that sound that she detests so much. That low, rumbling, aching laugh. The one that is nothing but resignation dressed up with a pretty fake bow of courage.
Oh dear…
*clic-clic-clic-click
She pulls the trigger over and over. Eye widen. She reaches to her pockets-
“DAMMIT!” she roars.
The rifle, thrown to the ground, clatters, jumps, and skips before coming to a rest in the swarm.
Out of options… Anger boils over. Val starts stomping, over and over, on the worms. They squish and splatter. She barely notices the texture. Or the burn of their acidic blood. Or the bones in her foot screaming at the abuse. She doesn’t care.
115
120
125
130
135-
The AI continues to count in a helpless tone.
Val’s cries start to build, louder and louder. Hurt pours from her chest as tears stream down her face.
A stuttering creak of metal rips her attention away. Val turns to see-
“[Valentyna?]” Father calls, one hand holding the door while the other cradles a pistol close to his torso. That old army uniform he always wears is covered in alien goop. His eyes are distant- blinking, but not really seeing. “[Is that you? Child, what hurts you so?]” he asks with what warmth he can muster.
Bile rushes back into her throat. Val looks to the man and none of her expression softens. “[You…]” she snarls.
Might I warn-
Val’s hands clench and she starts to tremble again. “[Where were you?!]” she throws a hand upwards. “[Where was God?!]”
“[Val. My daughter. Come here. Help me]” Father continues with little heed to their words. He reaches out and puts one foot in front of the other.
“[No! I was never your Daughter! None of us were! This is all your fault!]”
The man slows a step. “[My… Fault… No. Child. It’s the aliens. We must-]”
“[YOU BASTARD!]” Val falls into a coughing fit that wracks her body for too long. When she tries again, her voice is hoarse and shallow. “[You did this to us. You kept us down here- You said there was nothing left above- That God had forsaken the ones above and that we, his children, would live here together.]” she wipes at her eyes to clear some of the tears blurring her vision. “[Where are they now? Where are all the ones you said would be saved? All the ones I can’t remember now. Can you? Can you still see thier faces? All our family that we lost… because of you.]”
“[Valentyna…]” Father stumbles out of the door, making it only a few more fragile steps before collapsing. He hits the ground hard and the pistol falls from his hand to slide just a ways away.
Miss? Val? Miss Val, I must warn you about the infection of Model 7s. This man, he is-
Val is already crossing the distance. She crouches down and collects the little gleaming gem from the concrete.
Makarov. 9mm x 18mm. Soviet union. Semi-automatic. That should be sufficient for self-defen-
*POP, POP, POP
140 points total
Tears redouble their efforts. Spent cartridge land with a metallic ‘plop’ and roll at her feet.
A shout, barely distinguishable no matter the language, comes from the other side of the entrance barrier.
Val ignores it, assuming she knows what it is. She stands there a moment to watch the ugly worms pour out of the old man’s mouth. “[Tell everyone I miss them. But… I’ll be there soon.]”
The barrel rises…
“VALENTINA!!” Hazard calls. The soldier valiantly lands on the barbed wire and powers straight through. Cupping a hand to her mouth, she yells “WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!”
The hammer pulls back…
Hazard rounds the corner of the shipping container at an urgent jog. “Hey!?”
==
Hazard sits in a sterile room. Her hands rest on a metal desk with a stack of papers she’s looked through a dozen times already.
The debrief was exactly what she expected. No glitz or glamor. Just cold, emotionless, facts. She was commended for her perseverance. The early assessment of the threat. And the participation in the combat there after.
Everything went fine. Normal. Routine.
…
Her HUD sifts through data. Recordings. Coordinates. Options. Any and all logs she can pull from the last 24hours.
Nothing went fine. Nothing about that underground city was normal… This was anything but routine.
Hazard drops her head into her hands and groans. Fingers press hard, trying to dig trenches through her skull.
You did everything you could Madam. Gybralton’s tone is dry… But not heartless. Almost as if the AI is feeling the same anguish.
…
There is one thing in Hazard’s vision that every fiber of her being focuses on in the logs.
Civilian saved. 1 point added.
