《The Earth Offensive》 Chapter 1 The sun was shining brightly, warming the crisp autumn air. Red, yellow, and brown leaves contrasted beautifully with the deep green carpet of grass. It was a peaceful day¡ªone he intended to savor fully. Days like these had been rare lately. ¡°Holy shit, is this an IBS!?¡± ¡°Shut up and help me connect it.¡± His little gremlin of a daughter wiggled impatiently on his shoulders, no longer content now that they''d reached the park. She was a whirlwind of childish energy, a tiny maestro of chaos. She would be¡­ would be¡­ how old this October? He couldn¡¯t remember. What had he been thinking about? It wasn''t important. Nothing would shatter the tranquility of this moment. A piercing shriek¡ªhis daughter''s voice¡ªjolted him violently. He crashed to the floor as the door slammed into him. ¡°It¡¯s connecting! Do you think it''ll work?¡± ¡°How would I know? It¡¯s tech from before I was born, you idiot.¡± He shouldn''t eavesdrop on strangers'' conversations. Besides, it was all incoherent babble anyway. No. He would enjoy this walk, come hell or high water. A cool hand enveloped his own¡ªa comforting cold he''d grown to love years ago. She was wearing a colorful dress today, its floral motif starkly different from her usual sterile white lab coat. ¡°I wanted to enjoy the last bit of summer,¡± she said when putting it on. He couldn''t say no, even though she''d probably catch a cold. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Her high-pitched screams of defiance transformed into choked sobs, drowned out by the thunderous stomping of military boots. What could they possibly want from his family? His little gremlin grinned mischievously. ¡°Race me, daddy!¡± He could never say no. It felt good to move, to feel blood pumping through his veins. Running gave him a fleeting yet addictive illusion of freedom. His evening runs kept him in shape too¡ªa fact his wife appreciated, he thought with a rakish smile. He couldn''t move, couldn¡¯t blink. His eyes burned with pain. Bastards. Another needle pierced his skin. Agony. Then darkness.
Welcome to the Intergalactic Battle System, Commander! Your species'' Virtual Rest and Relaxation compound is being loaded. Please wait. In the meantime, you''re welcome to view the camera window from your personal IBS Uplink unit.
¡°Why in God''s name would you touch that button, you absolute buffoon?¡± A grime-covered woman of indeterminate age waved some sort of electrical device angrily at a younger man, the device''s flickering screen illuminating their faces. Jagged machinery and broken structures surrounded them, their outlines swallowed by darkness beyond the dim glow. ¡°I slipped! I didn¡¯t mean to press it!¡± the younger figure protested¡ªa thin, pale teenager with short, irregularly cropped dark hair. Both wore old, weathered winter clothing: puffed jackets, mismatched shoes. ¡°You know exactly how long we''ve been searching for an intact IBS unit! Be more goddamned careful. Nobody on the planet knows how to fix these anymore!¡± The young man began stammering an apology when a sudden green light enveloped them both. Their surprised, hopeful expressions would have given him pause on any other day. Now, contrasted against the backdrop of broken machinery and crumbling concrete walls, those expressions chilled him to the bone.
Initiation Complete. Welcome to Camp Fiddler¡¯s Green.
Chater 2 ¡°NO!¡± The pain was all-consuming. His limbs felt as if liquid fire flowed through his veins, burning hotter with every heartbeat. A terrible weight pressed down on his chest, stopping his lungs from responding to his desperate plea to inhale. His muscles locked, stretching tendons beyond their limits. A cold, firm surface caught his falling body, jolting him from the nightmare. Jonathan became aware of his short, ragged breaths first. He forced himself to hold each breath longer, counting heartbeats before exhaling, bringing his panicked mind back under control. The fine wood paneling of the floor felt pleasantly cool against his skin, grounding him in the moment. It extended about a meter away in each direction before meeting four light-gray concrete walls. The room contained only a messy bed¡ªone Jonathan had just fallen from¡ªand a simple wooden door, oak if he was any judge. ¡°Where am I?¡± The words came out quietly, spoken in a steady tone, as though someone else had uttered them. Sitting back onto the bed was a surprisingly painless endeavor, intensifying the sense of wrongness¡ªa creeping unease took root in his gut. Despite the nightmare, which should have had his heart racing and scattered thoughts panicking, he felt calm. Too calm. ¡°Welcome to the Command Center, Commander!¡± A humanoid being blinked into existence between one breath and the next. No taller than half a meter, this thin figure floated before him, defying gravity. Its youthful, smooth face stood at odds with the beige military fatigues it wore. Silence stretched as Jonathan realized the pinkish vibrating halo surrounding this tiny creature was actually dragonfly-like wings beating hundreds of times per second. It¡¯s a pixie. What the fuck is a pixie? Pixies don¡¯t exist. How do I know that? Its wings beat horizontally. How does it fly like that? It doesn¡¯t make any sense. ¡°Ah, I see you''re confused! Don''t worry; that''s quite normal after the procedure you''ve just undergone.¡± Its head turned slightly, pink bobbed hair bouncing jaggedly, glitching unnaturally. ¡°I¡¯m afraid there''s no human personnel available to assist you right now. The system has allotted a 15-minute break for you. I¡¯ll do my utmost to answer any questions you might have before we proceed to the tutorial.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Its humanlike eyes stared at Jonathan, the two oversized pink irises eerily familiar yet disturbingly artificial. The knot in his stomach dissolved slowly, replaced by artificial tranquility. It felt fundamentally wrong, yet he couldn¡¯t bring himself to panic or care about it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Who are you? Where am I?¡± The questions emerged unbidden, steady and detached. ¡°Good questions! Soooo, my name is Flicker¡ªor at least, that¡¯s what other Commanders call me. I quite like it!¡± Its speech took on a bubbly quality, contrasting sharply with its earlier factual statements. Its eyes briefly flickered with life before returning to a mechanical dullness. ¡°You''re at Camp Fiddler¡¯s Green, the staging area for Earth''s Commanders to rest, relax, and strategize between Operations, courtesy of the Intergalactic Battle System.¡± ¡°Intergalactic what? I''m not taking part in any battles. I¡¯m a scientist, for god''s sake, not a¡­ a Commander, or whatever you call me.¡± ¡°Oh. Haven¡¯t you been briefed? That¡¯s unusual! It''s alright! I''m sure we can figure this out together. Let me just take a looksie here¡­¡± The pixie bobbed up and down briefly before unfurling a scroll out of thin air, its end hitting the floor with a hollow thunk. I¡¯m insane. This is an asylum. I must have missed my meds, causing this schizophrenic episode. What other explanation could there be? ¡°Ah! Here it is. It says amnesia is a potential side effect during initial IBS calibrations for new species. Hmm¡­ you''re nowhere near the first. Hmph.¡± Flicker frowned deeply, her eyebrows scrunched exactly like his daughter''s whenever something confused her. His daughter. Where was she? His mind drew blanks¡ªno name, no face, not even her birthday. ¡°Listen! We¡¯ll figure this out as soon as you finish the tutorial. I''ll set it to super-duper easy for you. It''ll be over in a flash, and hopefully, your memories will return! Temporary amnesia isn''t uncommon; nothing to worry about, really!¡± Before Jonathan could respond to this casual dismissal, a loud siren blared¡ªtwo piercing notes repeating urgently, one high, one lower. ¡°Your break time is up! No time to waste, Commander. Up and at ¡¯em! I''ll see you on the battlefield.¡± The room shattered like glass, revealing an unending black void punctuated by blazing white letters:
Training Phase 1 Loading.
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