Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1) (3 page)

The blue line led Alan into a nearby hangar, then stopped.

Hide,
Eve commanded.

What? What’s going on?
Alan asked as he hid behind the hangar doors, crouching down.

The base is under attack.

What!?

Question unclear.

A gruff male voice began speaking over a loudspeaker:

“People of Earth. You are being deceived, lied to with traitorous propaganda. The United World Government is already in the palms of the Haxlards. If you hope for there to be an Earth free of alien control, there are two things you can do:

"Join the Legion of Man, or die.”

Where is this coming from?
Alan asked Eve.

Another user within the network. It is their backdoor I used to access the network,
Eve responded.

Wait… so you knew these rebels were here? Can you get them out of the network? Why did you tell me to get out of the tent?

Yes, the AI delivering the message was one of the other seven users within the network. I am unable to disconnect them. I detected a bomb within the tent, thus for your safety—

Wait, there’s a bomb in the tent?

Yes.

Okay, can you broadcast that? Wait no, broadcast the following: Everyone should evacuate the big white tent because a bomb is inside. You should be able to since you have the same permissions as these rebels.

Very well.

Overlaid on top of the voice that was speaking on the loudspeaker, saying something about the tyranny of the United World Government that had arisen, was a female mechanical voice. It said, “Everyone should evacuate the big white tent because a bomb is inside. You should be able to since you have the same permissions as these rebels.”

Wincing at the addendum, Alan waited, hoping people were able to hear the warning.

A few seconds later, a huge explosion went off. The concussive force rocked the hangar Alan was in, but no signs of damage appeared. Eve had gotten him far enough away. And, while the explosion was loud, it wasn’t enough to set Alan’s ears ringing.

Glancing outside, all Alan saw in the direction of the tent was smoke and debris. The constant gunfire returned. Looking upwards, Alan saw two small dots approaching. Whether they were ally or enemy ships, he had no idea.

They are of an unknown force, failing to give any identification. Thus it is likely they are rebel forces, 
Eve sent, answering his unasked question.

So, you’re just answering what I’m wondering? Wait, don’t answer that. I need to figure out where to go from here… what am I supposed to do? Actually, this is a game, right? Maybe this is actually part of the tutorial.

Question unclear, under whose directive are you supposed to—

Stop. Don’t answer rhetorical questions.

Yes sir.

Okay, if I try to go out there and fight what is the likelihood I’ll survive?

Should you attempt to engage the rebel fighting forces I estimate your survival rate to be 3.2%. Should you find a weapon, I estimate your survival rate to be 1.6%.

What? Why is my survival rate lower with a weapon?

You are more likely to be seen as a threat.

Uh okay… do you know anything about what happens if you die in the Game?

Unclear. Various sources cite loss of items, abilities, experience and currency.

Experience? Wait, what’s my level now?

Three. That does not matter right now, continue hiding.

Standing behind the hangar door, Alan tried to calmly observe his surroundings. Everything was so lifelike Alan had forgotten he was in a game. The world, the other people, his own body, everything felt exactly like it would in real life. He could smell and even taste the smoke that was in the air now. Each gunshot was a loud shock to his mind. With a glance, Alan noticed he’d been gaining experience for his actions, and for Eve’s. That meant if he killed a few rebels, he’d probably get experience too… only he’d probably die trying to do so.

Status screen, 
Alan thought.

His status popped up, along with a 360° picture of himself. He was shown having 100% HP, 89% stamina, free of disease. There was a tab for skills, but none were listed.

Where are the stats, the points I should be able to distribute now that I’ve leveled?
Alan asked Eve.
The Game is supposed to have character development like an RPG, right?

Unknown. Most likely this is to be explained in the Tutorial.

Well, what should—

A message popped up in front of Alan:

Once he read the message, another popped up.

A small icon appeared on Alan’s map, a spaceship of some sort, probably the Grasshopper.

Well I guess that answers that question… Lead the way,
 Alan thought.

A green line appeared on the ground, showing him a path to the ship. Glancing outside, Alan saw a few soldiers in mechanized armor running past. They appeared to be holding laser rifles.

Are you sure this is safe?
Alan asked Eve.

Both sides are avoiding firing upon new players. Do not engage anyone in combat and you should be fine.

Drawing a deep breath, Alan burst out of the hangar he was hiding in, sprinting as fast as he could. Alan kept his head down, following the green line before him. Better safe than sorry.

He heard a soldier call out to him. He continued running, adrenaline pumping. A minute later along the path Alan was completely winded, panting, slowing to a walk as he glanced around and saw no one. Maybe he should have worked out more in real life… this correlation to his real life endurance certainly explained why all the people the companies were hiring to play the Game looked super fit.

The path Alan was following led him along a runway parallel to the hangars. Behind him, acrid black smoke hung above where the tent had been. The ships he’d seen approaching were now overhead, small jets shooting lasers at the ground. The jets weaved back and forth in the air, far more nimble than any aircraft Alan had seen before, reversing as though inertia wasn’t a thing.

A man in a black jumpsuit turned a corner from behind one of the hangars. He raised his assault rifle at Alan. Alan raised his hands up in the air, yelling "I surrender! I surrender!" The man glanced at Alan, then continued to scan his surroundings.

Alan let out a held breath, about to say something, when a sword emerged from the man's chest. There was little blood, and the wound was slightly pixelated. The man fell to the floor, dead.

Amazed, Alan looked behind the man to find an Asian girl about his age, wearing some sort of dark navy blue martial arts robe. Alan thought it might be called a hakama, or something like that, but that was only what he remembered from watching too much anime. The sword was a katana, according to Eve, which likely made the girl Japanese.

"Um, thanks, I'm, uh, I'm an innocent bystander," Alan said, trying to get a better look at the girl’s face. She turned and stared at him. She had fierce brown eyes and a few scars on her face. Unlike almost every other girl Alan had ever known, it didn't look like she was wearing any makeup. Handsome leapt to his mind before pretty. And deadly.

She began raising her sword.

"Wait! Aren't you Kitana?" Alan said. "Icewolf told me you were in this batch of tutorial recruits, he showed me a picture of you, as you'd already entered the Game. Our capsules are like right next to each other in real life!"

Kitana paused, lowering her weapon, staring at Alan.

"You are Adampwnage?" Kitana asked.

"Huh? No! I mean yes, but call me Alan. Adampwnage was the stupid username I thought would be cool in high school, going by Adam instead of Alan because my mom didn't want me using my real name. Icewolf registered me under that name without asking me.”

"We should proceed to our respective ships."

"Um, right," Alan said. Kitana nodded at him, then began sprinting off in another direction. Sighing to himself, Alan watched her go. He continued along the path Eve set. He was nearing the hangar the Grasshopper was in when Eve suddenly commanded him to stop.

What?
Alan asked.

The location of the Grasshopper seems to be a point of contention between the Legion of Man and United World Government. It is highly unlikely we will be able to enter unharmed.

Shit. Do you know what ship that girl was heading to?

Analyzing data… Kitana is designated for the Titan, a Haxlard ambassador ship. Its destination is Khersath, the capital planet of humanoids within the Game.

Huh, well—

The Titan’s AI detected my presence accessing its passenger list. It managed to hide its presence on the network somehow. It wishes to communicate with me, accept?

Uh, sure.

Alan waited a few seconds, wondering what this was about, then a new message popped up:

Alan thought for a second, then agreed. Kitana probably knew what the hell was going on, and the capital planet sounded better than Mars. Then again, Alan had no idea who she really was, and if she had anything to do with what was happening right now. He tried to recall what Icewolf had told him. Kitana was the daughter of an influential Japanese businessman, or something like that. One of Icewolf's colleagues had recruited her, a sword instructor. That was it.

The Titan AI is transferring directions now, through a route which will avoid the fighting,
Eve sent.

Alright.

Alan began jogging along the new path, away from the hangars towards the series of runways. The jets continued to rain laser fire down from above, causing havoc amongst the United World Government ground forces. Suddenly, two giant green lasers shot out from where Alan was running to, slamming into the jets, disintegrating them.

Uh, was that the Titan?
Alan asked.

Uncertain.

Squinting his eyes, Alan could see a faint outline of a small ship landed in the middle of a runway in front of him. Eve classified it as a Haxlard dropship. It was fairly nondescript: a small grey aircraft that looked like a carrier helicopter but without the rotors, designed to carry goods and people to and from larger spaceships. Alan started running faster. He could make out a Haxlard mounted on some sort of assembled laser turret. Alongside him was a truck with Kitana and a group of seven other players, the knight and wizard he'd seen earlier among them.

As Alan approached, Kitana looked up at him, surprised. The Haxlard, wearing a green mask with a single white, vertical stripe, stepped forward. A few more Haxlards, wearing completely black masks stepped out of the aircraft and began disassembling the turret.

He is an Ultihaxlard not a Haxlard
, Eve told Alan.

“Greetings Earthling! Blessings to you and yours. You must be Adampwnage, our new addition. I am Pharaoh, the captain of the Titan.”

“Uh, greetings Ultihaxlard sir, call me Alan,” Alan responded, really wishing Icewolf had used a different username.

“New addition?” A Hispanic guy in a white suit asked. His body language practically yelled that Alan shouldn’t be here.

“Yes. Alan here somehow managed to convince the Titan AI to allow him aboard and grant him passage. I'm curious, how did you manage to discern I was an Ultihaxlard?”

“Uh, my AI told me.”

“Well, I suppose that answers both questions then. Now that we’re all here, let’s get aboard this dropship so we can get to the Titan.”

The guy in the suit threw Alan a questioning glance, but followed Pharaoh as he walked up the ramp of the dropship without saying anything. Alan waited until everyone else was in front of him, following Kitana who was the last of the group to walk aboard. Alan noticed a splattering of blood on her robe. Everyone else seemed rather disheveled as well. The knight he had seen earlier was missing his helmet, and there were small tears he noticed in other people’s clothing.

Pharaoh led them into the loading zone, where five seats aligned each side of the ship, silver rectangular blocks that adjusted for each person that stood in front of them. In the middle there was space for other belongings and cargo, but nothing was there now.

Pharaoh paused before entering the room where Alan assumed the pilots sat.

Negative. Dropship most likely piloted by Titan AI,
Eve sent.