12-17-2009, 08:01 AM
Audric leaned back and let out a sigh of exhaustion.
“Well, that’s that, I guess,” he grinned. He leaned back in his chair lacing his hands together and folding them beneath the back of his head. “The tournament is over.”
Josh nodded. He grabbed his jacket off the back of another chair and threw it over his shoulders, one arm through after the other. “Yep, that’s that,” the chairman agreed. “Terminate the program and vacate the facility.”
Audric cocked an eyebrow. He glanced at the screen to check its status before turning his gaze on Drake. “But Damon’s still inside. I can’t shut it down now. And what about the two players still hooked up to the machine?”
Josh flashed him an eerie smile. “Just a friendly suggestion.”
Audric’s eyes narrowed as Josh Drake waved good-bye and walked out the door.
-----
Sage sat completely frozen in the snow. Time’s passage held no meaning, and she didn’t even realize that both her and Alexander’s body were now coated in a thick layer of snow. The temperature didn’t bother her, so why should she notice? She didn’t notice the crunching noise of approaching footsteps, either. They began faintly at first, and then steadily rose in volume as they grew closer. The girl’s eyes widened from their dull stare, and she turned around to see none other than Damon Dukes.
“So, I see you are the winner,” he commented softly, placing his hands casually in his trouser pockets.
Even her burning hatred for the man responsible could not overcome the numbness she felt within. It was as if some part of her was broken.
“I know you blame me for this,” Damon began. “And, to some extent, I am at fault. But I have come to know you well enough that you realize that these actions were also of your own doing.”
“Did you come here just to tell me that?” Sage demanded, her voice distant.
“No, I did not,” Dukes smiled sadly. He too, had the aura of a man broken. “I came here to congratulate you and to rightfully give you what was promised.”
He pulled a small device from his pocket and raised it in front of him for her to see. She looked at it, uncomprehending. The host then stepped forward a little, holding it out for her to grab it. She took it, quelling the desire to incite violence against the enabler of her sins. Hadn’t enough people died? Sage examined it carefully, seeing a galaxial map of some sort with a faint pinging dot.
“It’s a tracking device. It will lead you directly to Sol,” Damon stated.
Sage’s eyes grew visibly intense.
“It won’t last for very long. I was able to have him tracked down, but, I only compensated my resources so much for their efforts. When the money runs out, the signal dies. I suggest you take advantage of it while it is there.”
“Then let me out of here,” she said.
“Certainly,” the host obliged. “One more thing, however.”
She didn’t dare break her concentration as she burned the location of the ping deep in her memory banks.
“They’re alive.”
A thick, heavy pause ensued.
“Wh…what?” Sage breathed slowly.
“Everyone who died is alive,” Damon repeated slowly, calmly.
Another pause.
“You…you made me think…you mean they were alive this whole time?” She leapt up, the locater in one hand, and her other hand clenched tightly into a white-knuckled fist. “H-how dare you? How dare you do that to me!”
Damon’s eyes wandered to the surrounding area, detecting a perceptibly sudden flare in the amount of snow swirling around them. His stared then returned to the ice witch. “Are you going to kill me?” he asked casually.
After a moment, she answered, “You’re…not the one who matters.”
Now that she knew that no act she committed retained permanent consequences, the heavy burden of guilt lifted from her frail shoulders. Besides, it wouldn’t have made her feel any better to add another life to the list of the slain. Damon simply nodded.
“Good luck, and, for what it’s worth, thank you,” Dukes replied. He closed his eyes and gave a wry smile. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
Before Sage had a chance to reply, she was immediately ejected from the game.
-----
Audric tapped his fingers impatiently on the console. A choice had to be made. He mulled over the options in his head. He was just a lowly programmer, after all, not even worth the fall of the axe that the board would surely beset upon them. Why should he go down for what Damon did? Audric created the weapon, and he had used that weapon, but he hadn’t selected the players or forced them to come here. The technical supervisor was only doing his job, after all. He sat behind a keyboard. Would that prove worthy enough a crime to be blackballed by corporate?
He glanced at the screen, noticing that the status of Alexander Trafford and Sage switched to ‘disconnected.’ Only one player remained in the program. Audric sighed and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He shook his head, growling before his fingers flew over the keyboard to initiate the sequence to remove Damon Dukes from the machine.
That is, of course, until he felt the cold steel of a gun barrel press against the back of his head.
“By order of the Kajin Rala intergalactic police agency, you are under arrest,” a distinctly feminine voice stated.
Audric froze, a sour grin playing on his lips. He let out a chuckle as he obediently raised his hands. So this is what Josh had warned him about.
“Kristanna, isn’t it?” Audric guessed.
“That’s right,” the android confirmed.
“I was wondering what happened to you after you killed Ashe. You suddenly disappeared from my tracking module,” the supervisor observed. “Last I heard, you were fired. So why go back into the game and execute a helpless teenage girl? I read your profile. You know, the confidential one? Her parents put you back together after you went boom. And you murdered their little girl. That wasn’t very nice of you.”
“She’ll be alright,” Kristanna assured. “I’ll make sure she’s okay. I helped out your boss one last time in exchange for some confidential files of my own. That’s right. I’ve got a lock on you and a couple members of your board.”
Audric’s smile disappeared, replaced by an ugly frown. “Really?”
“Yeah, really. He turned you in. Now, I suggest coming with me quietly, because I am authorized to kill. You saw me in action in the tournament, you know what I can do.”
“Sure,” Audric replied agreeably. “Just let me take care of one last thing.”
Before Kristanna could stop him, Audric’s finger slammed on the emergency shutdown button.
-----
Damon casually strolled into the Arctic Sector bunker, approaching the panel that allowed players to eject themselves from the program. His coding wasn’t located in a collar, as he didn’t wear one, but his avatar had been designed with a similar sequence. Just as he reached out to hit the final key, his hand fizzled and faded, like static from bad television reception. His eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment, and then a smile crept on his face as he realized what was happening.
“Sorry Audric, not fast enough,” he grinned. “King takes pawn.”
With his good hand, he slammed the button, escaping just as the world around him crashed.
-----
The host entered the empty conference room, fully recovered and completely unharmed. He traced his fingers along the oak table, until he reached the end chair, the one normally occupied by Josh Drake. Damon Dukes smiled, pulling the chair out and placing himself on the seat. He leaned backwards, and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Well, that’s that, I guess,” he grinned. He leaned back in his chair lacing his hands together and folding them beneath the back of his head. “The tournament is over.”
Josh nodded. He grabbed his jacket off the back of another chair and threw it over his shoulders, one arm through after the other. “Yep, that’s that,” the chairman agreed. “Terminate the program and vacate the facility.”
Audric cocked an eyebrow. He glanced at the screen to check its status before turning his gaze on Drake. “But Damon’s still inside. I can’t shut it down now. And what about the two players still hooked up to the machine?”
Josh flashed him an eerie smile. “Just a friendly suggestion.”
Audric’s eyes narrowed as Josh Drake waved good-bye and walked out the door.
-----
Sage sat completely frozen in the snow. Time’s passage held no meaning, and she didn’t even realize that both her and Alexander’s body were now coated in a thick layer of snow. The temperature didn’t bother her, so why should she notice? She didn’t notice the crunching noise of approaching footsteps, either. They began faintly at first, and then steadily rose in volume as they grew closer. The girl’s eyes widened from their dull stare, and she turned around to see none other than Damon Dukes.
“So, I see you are the winner,” he commented softly, placing his hands casually in his trouser pockets.
Even her burning hatred for the man responsible could not overcome the numbness she felt within. It was as if some part of her was broken.
“I know you blame me for this,” Damon began. “And, to some extent, I am at fault. But I have come to know you well enough that you realize that these actions were also of your own doing.”
“Did you come here just to tell me that?” Sage demanded, her voice distant.
“No, I did not,” Dukes smiled sadly. He too, had the aura of a man broken. “I came here to congratulate you and to rightfully give you what was promised.”
He pulled a small device from his pocket and raised it in front of him for her to see. She looked at it, uncomprehending. The host then stepped forward a little, holding it out for her to grab it. She took it, quelling the desire to incite violence against the enabler of her sins. Hadn’t enough people died? Sage examined it carefully, seeing a galaxial map of some sort with a faint pinging dot.
“It’s a tracking device. It will lead you directly to Sol,” Damon stated.
Sage’s eyes grew visibly intense.
“It won’t last for very long. I was able to have him tracked down, but, I only compensated my resources so much for their efforts. When the money runs out, the signal dies. I suggest you take advantage of it while it is there.”
“Then let me out of here,” she said.
“Certainly,” the host obliged. “One more thing, however.”
She didn’t dare break her concentration as she burned the location of the ping deep in her memory banks.
“They’re alive.”
A thick, heavy pause ensued.
“Wh…what?” Sage breathed slowly.
“Everyone who died is alive,” Damon repeated slowly, calmly.
Another pause.
“You…you made me think…you mean they were alive this whole time?” She leapt up, the locater in one hand, and her other hand clenched tightly into a white-knuckled fist. “H-how dare you? How dare you do that to me!”
Damon’s eyes wandered to the surrounding area, detecting a perceptibly sudden flare in the amount of snow swirling around them. His stared then returned to the ice witch. “Are you going to kill me?” he asked casually.
After a moment, she answered, “You’re…not the one who matters.”
Now that she knew that no act she committed retained permanent consequences, the heavy burden of guilt lifted from her frail shoulders. Besides, it wouldn’t have made her feel any better to add another life to the list of the slain. Damon simply nodded.
“Good luck, and, for what it’s worth, thank you,” Dukes replied. He closed his eyes and gave a wry smile. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
Before Sage had a chance to reply, she was immediately ejected from the game.
-----
Audric tapped his fingers impatiently on the console. A choice had to be made. He mulled over the options in his head. He was just a lowly programmer, after all, not even worth the fall of the axe that the board would surely beset upon them. Why should he go down for what Damon did? Audric created the weapon, and he had used that weapon, but he hadn’t selected the players or forced them to come here. The technical supervisor was only doing his job, after all. He sat behind a keyboard. Would that prove worthy enough a crime to be blackballed by corporate?
He glanced at the screen, noticing that the status of Alexander Trafford and Sage switched to ‘disconnected.’ Only one player remained in the program. Audric sighed and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He shook his head, growling before his fingers flew over the keyboard to initiate the sequence to remove Damon Dukes from the machine.
That is, of course, until he felt the cold steel of a gun barrel press against the back of his head.
“By order of the Kajin Rala intergalactic police agency, you are under arrest,” a distinctly feminine voice stated.
Audric froze, a sour grin playing on his lips. He let out a chuckle as he obediently raised his hands. So this is what Josh had warned him about.
“Kristanna, isn’t it?” Audric guessed.
“That’s right,” the android confirmed.
“I was wondering what happened to you after you killed Ashe. You suddenly disappeared from my tracking module,” the supervisor observed. “Last I heard, you were fired. So why go back into the game and execute a helpless teenage girl? I read your profile. You know, the confidential one? Her parents put you back together after you went boom. And you murdered their little girl. That wasn’t very nice of you.”
“She’ll be alright,” Kristanna assured. “I’ll make sure she’s okay. I helped out your boss one last time in exchange for some confidential files of my own. That’s right. I’ve got a lock on you and a couple members of your board.”
Audric’s smile disappeared, replaced by an ugly frown. “Really?”
“Yeah, really. He turned you in. Now, I suggest coming with me quietly, because I am authorized to kill. You saw me in action in the tournament, you know what I can do.”
“Sure,” Audric replied agreeably. “Just let me take care of one last thing.”
Before Kristanna could stop him, Audric’s finger slammed on the emergency shutdown button.
-----
Damon casually strolled into the Arctic Sector bunker, approaching the panel that allowed players to eject themselves from the program. His coding wasn’t located in a collar, as he didn’t wear one, but his avatar had been designed with a similar sequence. Just as he reached out to hit the final key, his hand fizzled and faded, like static from bad television reception. His eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment, and then a smile crept on his face as he realized what was happening.
“Sorry Audric, not fast enough,” he grinned. “King takes pawn.”
With his good hand, he slammed the button, escaping just as the world around him crashed.
-----
The host entered the empty conference room, fully recovered and completely unharmed. He traced his fingers along the oak table, until he reached the end chair, the one normally occupied by Josh Drake. Damon Dukes smiled, pulling the chair out and placing himself on the seat. He leaned backwards, and couldn’t help but laugh.
![[Image: 3nyxortbSM.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/waffuru/3nyxortbSM.jpg)