The Astral Hacker (Cryptopunk Revolution Book 1) by Brian Terenna (best ebook reader .txt) 📗

Next to her, is my burly sergeant, TigerShadow.

“Report,” I say to Blaze.

“The DarkTraders broke the temporary truce and gunned down two of our squads. They have thirty troops headed here right now, and twenty more guarding their base. We have about five minutes.”

Hell, that’s cracked.

“Commander, I have a suggestion,” says TigerShadow.

I nod to him to go on even though my heart pounds at the coming attack.

“This scenario reminds me of an episode of Lost: The Return. The Others broke a truce with the lost crew. Even though the Others had superior numbers and strength, the lost crew held them off in a narrow path through cliffs.” He brings up a holographic map between us. “I recommend we take this path,” he says, drawing on the map with his finger. A red line marks where he draws. “I think we’ll have enough time to get to this bottleneck. Then we can choke those lying vermin off.”

It’s not his worst suggestion, but it still won’t work. The narrow point would temporarily even the odds, but they could easily backtrack half of their troops around the building and take us from behind…from behind. I want to laugh but know it’s not the time. “We’re outnumbered three to one. They’ll eventually overwhelm us.”

“Oh, I suppose you’re right, Commander,” he says.

“Listen up, everyone,” I call out.

The surviving members of FreedomFire gather around me, looking dejected and nervous as they fidget and scan the area.

I stand straight-backed, my chin high, and look fondly over my guild. It’s been a year now, and I know their personalities better than anyone. ForrestMinx and her dirty jokes make me imagine what a big sister would be like. Dragonfly is always looking to rush into the fight, especially when we’re outnumbered. And Striker is always shocking people with her choice of jewelry, like her zombie finger-bone necklace.

I savor the camaraderie even as my mind spins through the crazy plan I’m crafting to give us a real chance.

I clear my throat, and then in my commander’s voice, I say, “Yes, we’ve been weakened by this surprise attack, but we always fight to the last person. Together, we’ve thrashed every other team on the way to the finals. There are not many of us left, but you all know how fierce and skilled each of you are, and you know what I’ve done as your commander. Let’s burn them all.”

The holographic avatars of my guildmates raise their weapons and cheer, their energy surging into me. My confidence soars higher. And although I had but the beginning of a plan before, the rest falls into place.

I meet their eyes and revel in their sincere smiles. I wish that every moment of my life was like this as I absorb their warmth, attention, and respect. It’s something I’ve rarely experienced in real life.

“Scorpion, Maverick, set up proximity mines at our flag,” I say, “then take up positions here and here with your sniper rifles.” I point to the locations on a holographic map. “Buy us as much time as you can.”

“Consider it done, Commander,” says Scorpion.

He and Maverick sprint away to the task.

“Blaze, we’ll take care of the attack,” I say.

She quirks a smile. “Thirty against two. I can’t wait to see what you have planned.”

“I can’t wait to show you. Everyone else, meet here.” I indicate a building closer to the enemy camp, but far enough away to avoid engagement. “We’ll be there after we thrash the others, then we’ll attack together.”

HellCat steps forward. “How do you know they’ll follow you instead of us?”

“There are entire forum groups where people discuss how to best StarFeather,” says Blaze as she slaps my back.

I grin at her. “They can afford to try since their defense is strong, but they’ll regret it. Now move out, everyone.”

The men and women salute me, ready their weapons, and run to their waypoint. I motion to Blaze, and we take off down the street.

“You should be more patient with TigerShadow. Remember the opening game of the tournament?”

“Always sticking up for the little guy, but yeah, that was a nice last-second save.”

“Yite. He’s hardly little,” she says.

I roll my eyes. “It seems like you stick up for him more than others, though.”

“He’s more interesting than most.”

“He flirts with half the guild, you know.”

She shrugs. “I’m not looking for anything like that anyway.”

I glance at my radar. About eighty percent of the red dots representing attackers veer toward us.

Diablo. They really want to kill me.

The other five head toward our base.

I motion Blaze down another street and access the city map. “We’ll climb this building, then jump the rooftops to here.” I point to a large warehouse. “When we’re there, we attack.”

Blaze nods. “Let’s get these scumbags.”

After a short run, we reach the intended building and scale the fire escape. When we’re close to the top, I peek down.

The enemy troops climb after us, not far behind, but out of direct line of fire. The sky darkens, and virtual rain patters down, feeling like little points of pressure in the real world.

Blaze and I sprint across the concrete roof. In front of us, a ten-foot gap stretches between the rooftops. I leap no more than a foot in the air in the real world, but my avatar flies across the huge gap. I glance the fifty or so feet down and am glad I’m in-game. I land and continue my sprint.

Blaze drops next to me with a thump, gripping her AK-710. She rattles off a few shots over her shoulder as she runs.

It looks ridiculous, but it wouldn’t be the first time she shot someone that way.

Bullets rip to the left and right of us as enemies return fire.