One Point TwoThis is a little story I'm working on about two old marine buddies who experience 1.2 for the first time. It's a work in progress, as you'll see when you get to the end, (don't look now!) and I'm working on finishing the next part up. This post is a bit long, and forums aren't the most beautiful way to read stories, but I did my best. All characters, locations, and events in this story are works of fiction, and any resemblance to real life, save for perhaps some general Tremulous player steryotypes, is pure chance, and you're wrong for even thinking it. I hope people will enjoy the story, please feel to comment if you wish. This story is available under
cc by sa, meaning feel free to steal, edit, distribute and/or sell this story any way you like so long as you give credit. Oh and if you actually make a decent profit from selling this story you must buy me plane tickets so I can come and punch you in the face.
So without further ado...
ATCS, sometime in the (near?) future.*****So this is finally it. Mark Anthony stared in wonder as the bright lights around him faded and he could finally see. He stepped off from his telenode to begin his exploration of the new generation.
I can’t believe I’m actually here. The new training facility didn’t seem to be different. Nope, this was still good old ATCS.
“I guess they were smart enough not to try and change the good things,” he remarked behind him, as the whir of another telenode announced the arrival of his partner, Tim LeRoy.
“Yeah…” LeRoy answered, “looks the same to me.”
“I feel better.” Anthony replied. His feet felt light as air.
“Aaah, that’s just from the telenode. You’ll get over it.”
“Boy, someone’s a cynic. Lighten up, this is 1.2.” Taking a break from conversing with his gloomy partner, Anthony continued to explore the room around him.
Same turret placement as last time. Hmm… they look the same too. “Hey come down here, let’s go outside” he called to his fellow marine.
“Yea sure, why not.” LeRoy leapt off the platform where the base was down to the floor below. “Hey that felt good.”
“Probably just the telenode,” Anthony remarked sarcastically.
“No really, it doesn’t feel as tiring as it used to.” LeRoy looked genuinely confused. “Here, you try it.”
“Try what?”
“Jumping. It’s easier now.”
Anthony wasn’t sure what LeRoy was talking about, but he didn’t usually lie, so Anthony decided to see for himself. The jump
did feel easier. He jumped again. And again. And
again. “Hey check this out!” He exclaimed, taking a leap yet again just moments after his pause. “Did you see that? That was like ten jumps in a row!”
“Ooh boy! I guess you can quit the marines now.”
“Yeah, hah.” Anthony never could manage too keep up with LeRoy’s sense of humor. So he decided to try something the other man couldn’t keep up with. He raced towards the outside arena while the older marine’s back was turned. “Come on man, you’re slowing me down!”
“Are you going to kill all those tyrants by yourself?” LeRoy called out, hurrying after him.
That froze Anthony. “There aren’t going to be any tyrants you joker,” he said, hoping fervently that he was correct. “There probably isn’t going to be anything larger than dretches in here. They wouldn’t do that to us… would they?” He asked.
LeRoy snorted. “Oh no. Not a chance.”
While they had been chatting the marines had reached the exit of their base and found themselves staring at a large bunker surrounded by dirt and large walls. Above them was a barren alien sky.
Well if this isn’t a familiar sight, I don’t know what is. Anthony thought to himself. Turning to LeRoy he said “and I worried that everything would be too different.”
“Hah, well after three years you do expect things will be changed.” Tim LeRoy’s voice turned darker. “Things will be changed, right? I mean, they’re not just playing with us here, trying to tell us it’s all new just to get us complacent?”
“Hey Tim, I sure as hell hope so,” Anthony replied. “I don’t want to find out the past three years of waiting have been for nothing.”
“Hey! Looks like here’s where we find out.” LeRoy nodded his head upwards.
One of the smallest of the alien classes, the dretch had appeared at the top of the bunker, staring down at them. Anthony had always been noted for his rifle aim. “Shit. Little bugger seems faster!” He gulped and re-adjusted his aim, dropping the now deceased alien to the ground.
LeRoy casually walked up to it, with his rifle pointed lazily at the dirt and ground his boot into the dretch’s battered side. “I forgot how much I hate these things,” he muttered. “Hmph… Looks bigger too. Just what we need, faster, bigger aliens.”
“Bigger just means easier to hit.” Anthony remarked. He was more shaken up from the encounter than he was willing to admit, especially to his battle-buddy.
Guess I really do need to get back into the shape of things. He checked the HUD that had been infused into his retina. “Hey, looks like Big Brother’s seen fit to equip me with 1000 creds.”
“Don’t feel too special kid, I’ve got the same now.” LeRoy was just three years older, but he never missed a chance to remind Anthony of that.
“Well what are we waiting for?” Anthony asked, “let’s go try some new guns out.”
“You sound excited.” LeRoy muttered.
“And you don’t.” Anthony answered back. “What’s wrong with you buddy? We’re marines, we’re about to get to test out brand new weapons. What isn’t there to like?”
“Oh hell Mark, I don’t know. Oh wait, maybe the fact that we’ll have to use them against giant hungry monsters of nightmare? Does that sound a little not so fun?”
That sounded very much not so fun to Anthony, but he wasn’t about to let LeRoy hear so. He winked. “All part of the challenge.” He wasn’t sure how much he looked forward to the challenges he was sure were coming, but he felt confident he and LeRoy could deal with them. No sooner had that thought formed in his mind than he heard a loud pant that made him seriously question his confidence.
“Shit!” Whirling around, he spotted a marauder launch itself for LeRoy. “Right behind you man!” Anthony’s call came a second late, but luckily his partner had noticed in time and quickly moved to the right to avoid the alien’s blade.
LeRoy’s quick move to avoid the marauder sent it flying past him… to rebound off a wall and slash him twice from behind before he had time to react. LeRoy dropped to the ground, blood pouring from his helmetless head.
“Tim!” Anthony screamed as he ran straight at the beast firing non stop from his rifle. He got within three feet of the alien when his clip ran dry. “Shit, reload, reload!” He screamed anxiously. He had just finished reloading and adjusted his aim to back on the marauder when it’s bloody mandible slashed his chest, causing him to yell in pain.
Time seemed to slow as he saw the creature’s arm pull back preparing for the killing blow. As Anthony tried to pull back quickly, he prayed he would make it in time. To his surprise a split second later he found himself six feet from the marauder. It reacted quicker than he liked and moved in, slashing his body while he was backed against a wall. “Ughh,” Anthony cried, as everything went dark.
*****“Aww fuck, did he get you too?” The booming voice that asked the question seemed louder than anything else he knew. “Hey man, you all right?”
Blinking, Mark Anthony stepped off of his telenode and stared in confusion at marine Tim LeRoy.
“Hey, quit looking at me like that. And I asked you a question.” LeRoy wasn’t anything if not brusque.
“Uhh, yeah. Damn Mara got me too.” Anthony cringed. It had taken him a few seconds to readjust after spawning in.
It really has been too long. I always knew first respawn was the worst. I never thought about first after a break. That was intense. “Shit man, we got demolished.” LeRoy’s face turned sour. “Why couldn’t you finish him off? I hurt him decently bad.”
Anthony scowled back. “Hey don’t knock me man. I lasted a lot longer than you did.”
“Ehh. Whatever.” LeRoy certainly wasn’t known for his charitable dispositions. “Welcome to One point fucking Two.”
Anthony’s face twinged into a bare smile. “Oh boy.” A moment later his small smile disappeared as his face gathered in a large sigh. “Well we sure started out well there.”
“Maybe if you had been watching my back…”
“Oh shut it. Want to go finish the bastard?” Anthony’s trigger finger was itching for some dead marauder. Maybe plastered in little bits across the walls.
LeRoy scoffed. “Hell no. You can go finish him yourself if you want. I’m going to shine some turrets.”
“Oh you’re a real help. I’m not going to go feed by myself. Besides, I thought there wasn’t supposed to
be any camp in 1.2”
LeRoy cracked his first smile of the day. “Hell Mark, if I’m playing…”
“Good point. Well what the hell are we going to do then? I sure don’t want to waste the day testing the weight limits of these turrets.”
“Not a bad idea actually. I wonder if that’s been changed.”
“Again, shut it Tim.” Anthony said, this time with a bit of a mischievous grin. “Want to go side this time?” He asked, starting to head toward the tunnel.
“Yea, that sounds great Mark, but care to get some upgrades first so we don’t just fatten another bastard?” LeRoy gestured toward the armory.
“Oh.. yea, whoops.” Anthony said, “ok, let’s see what this thing has.” He hopped over a turret and made his way to the large green box.
“Huh,” grunted LeRoy, working the armory screen, “looks like nothing new has been added.”
“Try a las gun.” Anthony interjected.
“My favorite.” LeRoy entered 250 credits into the armory and pulled out the weapon. “Damn! Look at this thing!”
Anthony smiled. “Sure is beautiful.”
“Oh I don’t care anymore,” LeRoy cooed, “They could keep us on ATCS for a million years, make granger blobs kill us instantly, and let basilisks fly, and I wouldn’t mind, so long as I have this new las gun.”
“Maybe you wouldn’t, but I’d sooner shoot myself than see any of that happen.” Anthony said. “Maybe I’ll take a shotgun.”
“Hmm…” LeRoy mumbled after the shotgun dropped into Anthony’s hands. "Looks nice too, although not as good as mine of course.”
“Here.” Anthony tossed a set of light armor to LeRoy, “you’ll need it buddy.”
“Well then, let’s go!” LeRoy burst, his courage boosted by his new weapon. “In the name of the Emperor, Timbo, and all that stuff.”
“May ATCS keep us safe,” Anthony replied automatically.
They jogged down the ramp and towards the hallways, footsteps pounding the floor. “Hey wait a moment,” Anthony said. “Don’t we seem pretty slow?”
“Yeah,” LeRoy replied, jogging besides him. “I didn’t notice it before, but I remember something about that. Some new boot command I think. Hold on a sec.” They slowed to a halt beside the sole turret guarding their base from the hall. “Ah here it is, I’ll send it to you.” A moment later the command registered with Anthony, and he entered it in his boot console.
“There we go.” Anthony smiled. They were racing now at much better speeds than they had earlier in the day. “Now this is fun.”
As they rounded the turn they found themselves on the ramp, facing down the hallway.
“Hey!” Two dretches were crawling across the walls towards them.
“Not a Problem,” LeRoy answered, smiling as he pumped laser rounds towards the aliens.
Anthony took a step back, deciding to wait for the dretches to get closer before firing his first shot.
The first dretch skirted across the ceiling and sped madly around the hall before deflating and dropping dead to the floor as LeRoy’s accurate las gun shots found their target.
The second one seemed to have a strong interest in Anthony, making a direct line for him across the wall. Mark Anthony waited until the dretch was right next to him, than jumped and twisted in a 180 fashion, blasting the wall as he did so. His rounds peppered the dretch and the wall next to it, dropping it to the ground. A split second later it started moving towards him, legs crawling madly across the ground.
“Shit…” Anthony murmured, backpedaling down the ramp. Only at that moment did the fact that he had no helmet really hit home, striking him with fear. One well placed bite by the dretch could leave him crippled.
A second bite after that would leave me as dead as the dretch that LeRoy just eliminated. Anthony worried. Luckily for him, in sensing its advantage, the dretch seemed to grow overeager, and leapt off the top of the ramp flying for Anthony’s head. Taking a deep, calm breath, Anthony squeezed the trigger, shredding the dretch just inches from his face.
“Wow.” He breathed. That had been close. “Hey Tim let's…” He froze in mid sentence, spotting LeRoy. The man was standing at the top of the ramp, pushing his legs towards Anthony. Unfortunately for him, all his effort didn’t move him an inch forwards. Right behind him, graspers wrapped around his legs, was a deadly looking basilisk.
It was perched effortlessly on the wall behind LeRoy, and was digging its bladed arm into his calf.
*****
