Wargames

Whirlwind. Loren and Crait took a moment to pause. Lore and The New Hologram found them in familiar environs.
“It’s been about an hour since their meeting with The Protectorate’s government, a day since they officially took over The Guild.” The New Hologram began. “That’s not counting the week they’ve spent in here.” It gestured to the lived in STA.
“What was in that Memdex?” Lore asked. “What was in those boxes? Why was there a shoe lace?”
“All in good time.” The New Hologram seemed to revel in predicting Lore’s responses. “To prove that The Temporal Sciences Guild was ready for emergency powers, The Combined Protectorate Military Guild would have to test their combat efficacy.”
“But why?” Lore’s patience was beginning to wane. “Why would a science guild need to show that they’re combat ready?”
“Because Emergency powers would mean that they would permanently absorb a portion of The Military Guild. They would become responsible for a small army.” The New Hologram’s face dropped. “They needed to prove that they could do their bit to protect The Protectorate and take over as their chief defenders.”
“Again, why do they need to do that?” Lore sighed in frustration.
“You’ll see.” The New Hologram smirked playfully, much to Lore’s chagrin.

“Today stands as a test of our mettle. A test we intend to pass.” Loren shouted out triumphantly. “We are better trained, better equipped and better built than they could even dream. We will emerge victorious!” Lore wondered who the posturing was for as the only person listening was Crait. “It may only be the two of us against a unit of theirs but we will win.”
“Doubt that.” The Commander of the opposition sauntered over to them. “You don’t have to do this, you can concede. Honestly, its confusing why your higher-ups want to take over as the Chief defenders.”
“We don’t.” Crait moved closer to inspect their competition. They tried to look intimidating but the size difference didn’t help. Their lean build was easily eclipsed by that of The Commander. “As we stated. We only want to stand as an Elite unit to help defend The Protectorate.”
“Above The Military Guild. Above everything, without laws.” The Commander shook his head. “You better be good.” He scoffed, walking away. “We’ll see you on the battlefield.”
Crait waited until he was out of earshot. “What have we got to use against them?”
“The rules say we’re not allowed to use anything penetrating so it’s one hundred percent non lethal and blunt for us but I think our main advantage will be the Sliders.” Loren attached his Slider to his wrist. He then took a band from his pocket and stretched it over his forehead. “Ready?”
“Ready.” Crait nodded.

They had let their opponents choose their arena. A dense forest in the Lake District that had been cordoned off exclusively for military use. Loren and Crait stood by their flag. “Have we got a plan?” Crait asked.
“We play it how we usually do, I go right, you go left. First one to grab the flag signals and the other plays offensive defence till they get home.” Loren shrugged. “That or we both take the middle, because they’re likely to be in a fortified position by their flag, then we wipe the floor with them.”
“But there are thirty of them…” Crait tapped their hip. “And we’re only using sticks.”
“We’ll make a competition of it then: Who can bag the most ‘kills’.” Loren smirked. He withdrew a telescoping staff from the weapon rack beside him.

A blistering red light clung in the sky for a moment before exploding into a shower of sparks. The game began. Loren and Crait slowly walked out of their base. There was about half a kilometre of forest between them and their opponents. With a nod, they knew what to do. Crait vanished off to the left and Loren took the centre. Thanks to their Sliders, their oppositions greater numbers was their only hurdle. Loren reached the base in under five minutes, thanking the neural control unit they had found as a result of the Faochite Protocols. They could see the enemy’s flag. Twenty soldiers held position, weapons trained on the three entrances to their base. Loren flourished their staff, revelling in the possibilities they were concocting. Part of them wanted to simply walk into the base, using the Slider to dodge any fire that came their way, part of them wanted to use it to slide in and out without being seen. Then, something else came to them. They walked ahead, watching as the guns pivoted to track him; he continued as if they didn’t matter. He heard them fire, saw the rubber bullets coming towards where he was as he activated his Slider, throwing himself behind the nearest officer. With a swift flick of his staff, his first target was down; again, he slid, behind his second target, he lingered, long enough for the soldiers opposite to acknowledge his presence and instinctively fire. Their bullets only hit their comrade as Loren was gone again. At some points, Lore could have sworn they saw duplicate Lorens haunting his enemy while systematically dismantling their defences. They caught a glimpse of Crait in the distance, engaging a five person unit by themselves. Loren finished their twenty and captured the flag before sliding to assist Crait who, while physically holding their own, failed to use their technology to the same benefit as their partner. They never saw Loren, not until the unit was unconscious at their feet. Another nod and they were sliding back to base. The Commander was waiting for them. Upon seeing that they had captured their flag, he laid theirs at their feet and extended his hand. Loren was tempted but held back the urge to strike him, instead, extending their own. The Commander nodded, acknowledging his defeat before rounding the remnants of his unit up to return to base.
“The seeds have now been sewn.” The New Hologram returned. “The Inquisitoriam was official.” Advances.