Ch9 Deadshot

Ryan woke before Skynet could tell him to.

For several seconds, he remained flat on his back, staring at the bare alloy ceiling while the events of the previous day slowly returned.

The orbital station.

Captain Unkud.

The Awakening.

Jessica.

Cultivation.

His Talent.

Then he remembered what was waiting for him today.

Deployment.

Ryan sat up.

Despite having spent far too much of the night cultivating and experimenting with his barrier instead of sleeping, he felt surprisingly rested. Opening his first Qi Point hadn't transformed him overnight, but something about circulating X Energy through his body seemed to have accelerated his recovery. The crushing fatigue that had followed the Awakening was gone, leaving only a faint soreness in muscles that had endured far more than they were accustomed to.

He took a quick shower, letting the cold water wash away the dried sweat from the previous night's training, then returned to the main room and approached the equipment shelf.

For the first time, Ryan unfolded his Exclipse uniform.

The slate-gray tactical suit looked relatively simple until he picked it up. The fabric was thinner and lighter than he'd expected, yet dense enough that it barely stretched between his fingers. Reinforced composite plating protected the chest, shoulders, forearms, and knees without restricting movement, while dark navy sections ran along the sides and joints.

Ryan pulled it on.

The material tightened automatically against his body.

"Oh."

He lifted both arms.

The suit adjusted again.

"That's convenient."

The boots sealed around his ankles the moment he tightened them, and the utility belt locked around his waist with a soft metallic click.

Then Ryan reached for the sidearm.

Yesterday, Skynet had immediately warned him away from it.

Today, no warning appeared.

He hesitated before wrapping his fingers around the grip.

The weapon came free from its magnetic cradle.

Ryan smiled.

He knew this gun.

Or at least, he knew the classroom version of it.

Exclipse schools taught weapon familiarity long before Recruitment Day. Students learned safety procedures, firing stances, maintenance principles, and basic operation using disabled replicas and virtual simulations. Ryan had handled training versions of the standard particle sidearm dozens of times.

The real weapon felt different.

Heavier.

Colder.

Dangerous in a way no simulator could reproduce.

A small indicator illuminated along the upper receiver.

[ USER AUTHORIZED ]

[ STANDARD PARTICLE SIDEARM ]

[ SAFETY: ACTIVE ]

Ryan checked the weapon exactly as he'd been taught, secured it in the holster on his right hip, then attached the combat knife and remaining equipment.

He caught his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

For a moment, Ryan simply looked at himself.

Yesterday morning he'd left Earth wearing civilian clothes.

Now an Exclipse uniform covered his body, an alien firearm hung from his hip, and somewhere beneath his sternum an Awakened core quietly refined energy that hadn't existed to his senses two days ago.

He looked older.

Not physically.

Something else had changed.

Ryan wasn't sure he liked that thought.

"All right."

He tightened the final strap on his utility harness.

"Let's see what they've got."

He left his quarters and walked five doors down.

Jessica's door was exactly where he'd left her the night before.

Ryan pressed the entry chime.

A few seconds later, the alloy door slid open.

Jessica stood near the center of her room, tightening one of her tactical gloves. Her Exclipse uniform matched Ryan's, though the fitted armor sat differently across her slimmer frame. A particle sidearm rested against her hip, and her long black hair had been pulled back neatly.

Her blue headband remained firmly in place.

Ryan leaned against the doorway.

"You're really wearing that?"

Jessica glanced up.

"What?"

He pointed toward his forehead.

"The headband."

Jessica touched it as if she'd forgotten it was there.

"Yes."

"You think they're going to let you keep it with the uniform?"

"If someone with enough authority tells me to take it off, I'll consider it."

"Consider it?"

Jessica tightened the glove around her wrist.

"It keeps my hair out of my eyes."

"I'm pretty sure that's what hair ties are for."

She gave him a flat look.

Ryan smiled.

"Headband it is."

Jessica grabbed her tactical pack from the bed.

Ryan's smile softened as he watched her.

She looked better than she had yesterday.

Not completely fine.

There was still a tiredness around her eyes that hadn't been there on Earth, and when a distant metallic clang echoed through the station, Ryan noticed her shoulders tense before relaxing again.

But she was standing.

Preparing.

Moving forward.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

Jessica took a moment before answering.

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"Better."

She checked the seal on her pack.

"Not good. But better."

Ryan nodded.

Jessica sat on the edge of the bed.

"I didn't sleep much."

"Neither did I."

"You were probably playing with your Talent all night."

Ryan paused.

"Maybe."

Jessica shook her head.

"I knew it."

He walked farther into the room.

"What about you?"

Jessica looked down at her gloved hands.

"For the first hour, I mostly just sat here."

Her expression became quieter.

"I kept seeing him."

Ryan didn't need to ask who.

Jessica inhaled slowly.

"But eventually I realized I could either sit here thinking about what happened or start figuring out how to make sure I'm not helpless the next time something goes wrong."

There was something harder in her eyes now.

Not indifference.

Ryan was glad of that.

He didn't want yesterday to turn her cold.

But there was resolve beneath the fear.

"So I cultivated," Jessica continued. "Opened my first Qi Point. Unlocked my Talent. Practiced until Skynet started recommending that I sleep."

Ryan laughed softly.

"Skynet does that?"

"Apparently."

"Mine mostly insults me with access-denied messages."

"Maybe it just doesn't like you."

"Impossible."

Jessica smiled.

The expression didn't last long, but it came easier than yesterday.

Ryan folded his arms.

"So?"

"So what?"

"You're really going to make me ask?"

Jessica's smile returned.

"What Talent did you get, Lowell?"

"Hey, I asked first."

"No, you didn't."

"I was about to."

"You were standing there staring at my headband."

"Fine."

Ryan gestured toward her.

"What's your Talent?"

Jessica rested one hand against the grip of her sidearm.

"Deadshot."

Ryan blinked.

"Deadshot?"

"Mhm."

"Okay. That's a good name."

"I know."

"No humility whatsoever."

"Why would I pretend?"

Ryan laughed.

"So what does it do?"

Jessica's expression brightened for the first time that morning.

"When I activate it, my spatial awareness increases dramatically. My visual perception changes too. Movement feels slower—not actually slower, Skynet made that very clear—but my brain processes what I'm seeing faster."

Ryan's interest sharpened.

Jessica continued.

"I can judge distance, movement, trajectories, angles, even environmental interference more accurately. Wind, target speed, projectile drop... that kind of thing."

Ryan stared at her.

"That's ridiculous."

"I'm not finished."

"Of course you're not."

Jessica drew her particle sidearm, keeping it pointed safely toward the floor.

"I can also channel X Energy into projectile attacks."

Ryan leaned closer.

"Meaning?"

"Bullets. Pulse rounds. Knives. Anything I launch as a projectile, assuming I can properly infuse it."

She returned the weapon to its holster.

"The X Energy reinforces the attack and massively increases the impact."

"How massively?"

Jessica's mouth curved upward.

"About ten times, according to my tests."

Ryan stared.

"Ten?"

"Approximately."

"That's insane."

"I know."

Ryan shook his head.

"You got a literal sniper Talent."

"Pretty much."

"And I got a wall."

Jessica laughed.

"Your turn. What's the wall called?"

Ryan sighed dramatically.

"Absolute Energy Barrier."

Jessica stopped laughing.

"Wait."

Her eyes widened.

"That's the actual name?"

"Yep."

"Absolute Energy Barrier?"

Ryan nodded.

"Sounds better when you say it like that."

"Ryan, that sounds incredible."

"That's what I thought until I tried using it."

He raised his right hand, though he didn't summon anything.

"I can create solid barriers out of X Energy. They're transparent, ridiculously sturdy from what little I could test, and once they're fully formed, they stay in existence without continuously draining X Energy."

Jessica's eyebrows rose.

"That's already extremely useful."

"There's a catch."

"Of course there is."

"A full torso-sized barrier costs me around four X Energy."

Jessica winced.

"Out of?"

"Nine."

"Ouch."

"Exactly. And it takes about two seconds to form."

Jessica's expression shifted as she immediately understood the problem.

"So you can't use it reactively."

"Not against anything fast."

Ryan nodded.

"If someone fires at me and I wait until I see the shot, I'm already dead. Same thing with a sword or anything else moving quickly. I need the barrier formed before the attack reaches me."

Jessica considered that.

"Can you move it?"

"That's the interesting part."

Ryan smiled.

"Once the barrier exists, I can reposition it using Mental Energy. Moving it is way cheaper than making another one. I can also leave it somewhere without controlling it, and it'll just stay there."

Jessica stared at him for a second.

"Ryan."

"What?"

"That's not just a shield."

His smile widened.

"That's what I realized."

"You can create cover wherever you want."

"Yep."

"Block hallways."

"Yep."

"Protect other people."

"Yep."

Jessica's eyes sharpened as she worked through the implications.

"Control where enemies can move."

"Eventually."

"Trap something."

"If I can afford enough barriers."

Jessica looked impressed.

"And you're complaining because I can shoot things?"

"Your thing hits ten times harder."

"My thing doesn't create indestructible walls."

Ryan raised a finger.

"We don't know they're indestructible."

"It's called Absolute Energy Barrier."

"Marketing exists."

Jessica laughed.

Ryan grinned.

"Anyway, what's your status look like?"

Jessica focused on her Skynet interface.

"Share status with Ryan Lowell."

A notification appeared.

[ JESSICA ASHMULL HAS SHARED STATUS INFORMATION ]

Ryan accepted.

A second panel opened beside his own field of vision.

[ STATUS ]

Name: Jessica Ashmull

Species: Human

Sex: Female

Cultivation Rank: Unranked

Qi Points: 1 / 360

Rank One Progress: 1 / 40

Talent: Deadshot

Strength: 5

Constitution: 6

Dexterity: 8

Speed: 5

Mental Energy: 9 / 9

X Energy: 9 / 9

Skills: None

Unique Skills: None

Ryan studied the numbers.

"Nine Mental Energy."

Jessica nodded.

"Apparently."

"You beat me by one."

"Tragic."

Ryan pulled up his own status beside hers.

Strength: 7

Constitution: 7

Dexterity: 8

Speed: 7

Mental Energy: 8 / 8

X Energy: 9 / 9

He smiled.

"Still got you everywhere else."

Jessica slowly looked at him.

"What?"

"Strength seven. Constitution seven. Speed seven."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Do you remember nothing from school?"

Ryan's smile faltered.

"I remember plenty."

Jessica tapped the side of her head.

"Those numbers aren't telling you what your body can produce right now. They're your current potential ceilings."

"I know."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

Jessica folded her arms.

"Because you sound suspiciously proud of yourself."

"I was making conversation."

She ignored him.

"A Strength score of seven doesn't mean you're currently operating at seven. It means your body has the potential to reach that level at your present stage. You still have to develop toward it through conditioning, cultivation, and actual training."

Ryan sighed.

"Yes, Professor Ashmull."

"If two recruits both have Strength seven but one has trained for years and the other has spent his entire childhood sitting in a chair playing dungeon raids—"

"Okay."

"—the trained one is going to fold the other one in half."

Ryan pointed at her.

"For the record, I occasionally stood up."

Jessica laughed.

Ryan dismissed the status displays.

"Still. Your Talent works ridiculously well with your stats."

"So does yours."

Ryan looked at her.

Jessica shrugged.

"Think about it. You control the battlefield, I shoot through whatever openings you give me."

Ryan considered the image.

A barrier protecting them from incoming fire.

Jessica positioned behind it, Deadshot active.

Ryan shifting the shield to create firing angles while she sent X Energy-charged rounds downrange.

"That's actually..."

"Good?"

"Terrifying."

Jessica smiled.

"Exactly."

Ryan held out a fist.

"Tank and sniper."

Jessica bumped it.

"Don't call me sniper."

"Why?"

"It sounds generic."

"Deadshot and Blue Glass?"

Jessica stared at him.

"Never call yourself Blue Glass."

"I kind of like it."

"I will shoot you."

"Behind my barrier."

"Two-second cast time."

Ryan lowered his fist.

"That's unnecessarily personal."

Jessica laughed.

For a little while, the station didn't feel quite as oppressive.

Then the laughter faded.

Jessica looked toward the closed door.

"Do you think about home?"

Ryan's expression softened.

"Yeah."

"Last night I kept thinking about how weird this is."

She looked down at her uniform.

"A few days ago, I was worried about passing a test at school. Now I'm wearing body armor and carrying a weapon because somebody is about to teleport me to another planet."

Her fingers tightened slightly.

"My parents are still down there."

Ryan thought of Earth hanging beyond the station's transparent dome.

Then he pictured his mother at the spaceport.

Sarah trying not to cry.

You better come back.

His chest tightened.

"My mom and Sarah too."

Jessica looked at him.

"It feels farther away than it actually is."

Ryan nodded.

He understood exactly what she meant.

Earth was physically close enough that he'd seen it yesterday.

Yet it might as well have been on the other side of the galaxy.

Jessica's voice grew quieter.

"What if five years changes everything?"

"It will."

She looked at him, surprised by the answer.

Ryan didn't see much point pretending otherwise.

"We're going to change. Everyone back home will change too. Five years is a long time."

Jessica lowered her gaze.

"But that doesn't mean we never see them again."

Ryan rested his hands against his belt.

"We survive this. We get stronger. We finish training."

His thoughts drifted toward his father.

"And eventually, we go home."

Jessica was quiet for a moment.

Then she nodded.

"Eventually."

Ryan could feel the mood getting dangerously heavy again.

Naturally, he did what he always did.

"Also, I need to figure out streaming."

Jessica slowly turned toward him.

"What?"

"Streaming."

"You cannot possibly be thinking about that right now."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because we're about to be teleported onto an alien planet."

"Exactly. Think of the content."

Jessica stared.

Ryan became more animated.

"Nobody wants to watch me sit in a classroom learning Esoteric theory. But actual field training? Alien planets? Monsters? Dungeons eventually?"

He spread his hands.

"That's the good stuff."

"You are unbelievable."

"I'm serious. Darkstar didn't become Darkstar by keeping everything private."

"Darkstar is also one of the strongest combat streamers alive."

"Everyone starts somewhere."

Jessica shook her head, though a smile tugged at her mouth.

Ryan continued.

"If I can get permission from Exclipse administration to broadcast eventually, I could build an audience while I'm training. X Energy crystals, sponsorships, gear—"

"You're already planning sponsorships?"

"Long-term strategy."

"You're Rank Zero."

"Unranked."

"That is worse."

Ryan ignored her.

"And Sarah could watch."

That stopped Jessica.

His grin softened.

"If I can stream someday, she could see me."

Jessica's expression changed.

Ryan looked down at his wristband.

"She made me promise I'd call whenever I could. I don't know how often they'll actually let us contact Earth, but if she could watch my streams..."

He shrugged.

"Maybe it wouldn't feel like I disappeared."

Jessica smiled gently.

"Okay."

Ryan looked at her.

"Okay what?"

"That's slightly less stupid."

"Slightly?"

"Don't ruin it."

Ryan laughed.

A sharp chime sounded inside his head.

Jessica stiffened.

Ryan's smile vanished.

Gold light expanded across both their fields of vision.

[ MANDATORY DEPLOYMENT NOTICE ]

[ REPORT TO TELEPORTATION BAY 04 IMMEDIATELY ]

[ NAVIGATION ROUTE ASSIGNED ]

[ BAY LOCKDOWN: 09:59 ]

The timer began counting down.

09:58.

09:57.

A glowing gold navigation path appeared in Ryan's vision, extending from Jessica's quarters and into the corridor beyond.

Neither spoke for several seconds.

This was it.

Jessica took a deep breath and adjusted her tactical pack.

"Ten minutes."

Ryan checked his sidearm.

Safety active.

Combat knife secure.

Utility belt sealed.

Then he looked at Jessica.

"You ready?"

She swallowed.

"No."

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

Jessica tightened the strap across her chest.

"But I'm going anyway."

Ryan smiled.

"Good enough."

They stepped into the corridor.

The residential wing had transformed overnight.

Hundreds of recruits poured from their quarters wearing identical Exclipse uniforms and carrying identical packs. Gold navigation routes overlapped throughout the hallway, directing different groups toward lifts, transit platforms, and teleportation sectors deeper within the station.

There was far less conversation than Ryan expected.

Yesterday had changed everyone.

Some recruits looked excited.

Others terrified.

Many simply stared ahead.

Ryan and Jessica joined the flow.

Their navigation paths remained identical.

That was a good sign.

Ryan glanced at her.

"Looks like Bay Four for both of us."

Jessica noticed it too.

"Maybe we're in the same deployment group."

"See? You worried for nothing."

"I watched thousands of people die yesterday, Ryan. I think I've earned the right to worry."

"Fair."

They reached a transit lift with dozens of other recruits and packed inside.

The doors closed.

Ryan felt the lift accelerate downward.

His wristband pulsed.

A new line appeared beneath the deployment notification.

[ DESTINATION DATA: RESTRICTED UNTIL TELEPORTATION ]

Ryan frowned.

"That's reassuring."

Jessica looked over.

"You got that too?"

"Yep."

"So they won't even tell us where we're going."

"Apparently surprises build character."

"I hate your optimism."

"It's one of my best qualities."

The lift stopped.

Doors opened.

Ryan stepped out—

—and forgot what he'd been about to say.

The teleportation complex was enormous.

The ceiling rose hundreds of feet above them, supported by reinforced pillars covered in glowing Esoteric circuitry. Dozens of circular platforms stretched across the vast chamber, each surrounded by towering metallic arches filled with swirling blue-white energy.

Thousands of cadets moved through organized processing lanes.

Vanguard personnel stood at every checkpoint.

Above each teleportation platform, enormous holographic numbers marked the bays.

01.

02.

03.

Then Ryan saw theirs.

04.

Energy crackled between the towering structures surrounding it.

Every few seconds, a group of recruits stepped onto one of the distant platforms.

Light engulfed them.

They vanished.

Ryan slowed.

Yesterday he'd watched Earth from orbit.

Today he was about to step onto another world.

No shuttle.

No weeks of travel.

One moment here.

The next somewhere beneath an alien sky.

His nervousness finally caught up with his excitement.

Jessica moved closer beside him.

"Still ready?"

Ryan watched another group disappear in a burst of light.

His heart hammered.

He smiled anyway.

"Ask me again after we find out where we're going."

Together, they followed the golden path toward Bay Four.

Neither of them knew that their original destination had been changed only hours earlier.

Neither knew Captain Unkud had removed their group from the controlled training zones prepared for new Awakened.

And neither knew that Prince Vorash had personally demanded something more dangerous.

Above the entrance to Bay Four, Ryan's deployment timer continued counting down.

03:17.

03:16.

03:15.

Beyond the portal, somewhere impossibly far from Earth, the frontier was waiting.