NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68 - Last Stand
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but action in spite of it."
— Mark Twain
"Here we go," Chris muttered, his eyes darting to the doors. "They're coming."
"Ten minutes," Luca said, his voice tight. "Ryan, you're on defense."
Luca could infiltrate any compound, but defense was Ryan's domain. Ryan was already scanning the room, analyzing angles and entry points.
"Listen up!" His voice cut through the tension. "We've got three doors to defend. Luca, take the north entrance." He paused, his eyes flickering to a large pool of blood. "Try not to slip."
Luca moved into position, his tomahawk in one hand, his new plasma blaster in the other. He felt his pulse quicken as he heard the faint, rhythmic thud of approaching footsteps. "Got it."
"Chris, Danny, you take the east door," Ryan continued. "Set up a barricade and use suppressive fire."
"Copy that," Chris said, already moving as Danny used his power armor to drag a heavy console into place.
"Joey, you're with me on the west door," Ryan said. "We'll take point."
"Emily, Zoe," he looked at both of them. "You're our floaters. Move to wherever the line is weakest. Stay mobile."
Emily and Zoe exchanged a quick, grim nod, slipping into positions on opposite sides of the room. The entire team was focused, their expressions hard. The time for shock was over. Now, it was time to survive.
***
The command center formed a rough triangle, with blast doors at each point. North where Luca crouched, east where Danny and Chris had built their barricade, and west where Ryan and Joey held the line. The center was a maze of consoles and debris—perfect for Zoe's sniper perch and Emily's mobile support.
As they finished setting up, the alarm's wail pulsed louder, a rhythmic scream that felt like it was coming from inside his skull. He could feel it through the floor, a mechanical heartbeat, steady and relentless.
He crouched behind a stack of metal crates at the north entrance, tomahawk resting on his thigh, his Plasma Blaster balanced in his other hand. The floor was still tacky beneath his boots. His HUD flashed an ambient temp spike warning as the chemical haze thickened. The waiting dragged on.
Emily moved closer, crouching beside him. Her voice was low. Hesitant. "Luca… are you alright?" A beat. Then quieter: "You're covered in…"
She didn't finish. He glanced down. His suit was black and red and slick in places. "It's not mine," he muttered. The words felt mechanical. He could feel her watching him, not just checking for wounds. Watching him. Like she was trying to figure out if the person beside her was still him. He didn't look at her. Couldn't. If he did, he might have to feel something. Instead, he stared down the hall, waiting.
The first wave hit hard. The north door shuddered, then burst open. A pack of Varnathi skirmishers stormed through, plasma rifles blazing. He reacted instantly, blaster up, shots slicing the air. Two of them dropped before they crossed the threshold.
Their return fire came fast and loud. Bolts of blue-white energy zipped past his head, sizzling against metal. One hit the stack of crates he was using for cover and punched through. Fuck. He ducked just as the crate behind him exploded. He moved fast, sidestepping. His boots skidded across tacky flooring, and he stepped on something soft and wet. A severed hand.
"Contact at the north door!" he barked. "Multiple hostiles, I need backup!"
"I'm on it," Zoe's voice crackled through the comms, calm and smooth. A half-second later: CRACK. One of the Varnathi's heads vanished. Another shot. Another clean kill. Her timing was perfect. CRACK. A third one dropped.
He risked a glance back. Zoe was perched atop a console in the center of the room, crouched low, sniper rifle braced. Perfect overwatch position.
The east door exploded next. "East door's hot!" Danny's voice roared. "They're pushing through, Chris, light up the big one!"
"Got it!" Chris snapped back. His plasma rifle sang, laying down suppressive fire. He could hear the high-pitched whine of his [Power Surge] activating.
"Keep them pinned!" Danny shouted in his heavy power armor, he was beside Chris, shouldering debris into the breach. His [Warhammer] was strapped to his back, but he had activated [Taunt], drawing fire.
At the west entrance, Ryan and Joey were holding the line, a rifle and a blaster firing in tandem. "They're pushing hard on my side!" Joey called out. "I'm dropping a grenade!"
"Do it," Ryan replied. The grenade detonated with a crackling BOOM, sending a white-blue surge of electricity arcing across the attackers. "Switching to napalm!" Joey warned. "Turret deployed," Ryan added. The whirr of his deployable energy turret came online, spewing energy bolts.
A Varnathi officer stepped into view at Luca's position, raising a heavier rifle. Shit. "Sniper left side!" he warned.
Zoe didn't answer. CRACK. His chest evaporated.
The floor vibrated, and when the smoke cleared, he saw the twisted, charred remains of several guards.
[+182,880 XP]
[+72,000 credits]
[Level up! Level 63 +5 Attribute Points]
[Skill level up! Ambush Tactics Proficiency Level 9 -> Level 10]
[Skill level up! Light Armor Proficiency Level 10 -> Level 11]
[Ability upgrade! Ghost Protocol Level 2 --> Level 3]
[Ability Unlocked: Proximity Threat Map]
Cooldown 5 minutes. Every level after level 10 increases duration by 20% and lowers cooldown by 10% per level.
He stared at the notifications. That was a huge amount of XP.
Ryan whistled. "Damn. If this keeps up, we'll hit level 70 by breakfast."
"This isn't normal," Luca said slowly. A new ability, [Proximity Threat Map], was quietly waiting. It looked useful.
"Yeah, don't get too excited," Ryan muttered. "I've got a theory. We're getting huge XP now because we just crossed into tech level 9 territory. The System's throwing rewards at us to speed up the curve. But the deeper we go, the steeper that curve's gonna get. Trust me, leveling after 64 is going to suck."
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
"You are such a buzzkill," Zoe said dryly from her perch.
Danny chimed in over comms. "He's not wrong. The XP gain is probably exponential early on, then logarithmic past a certain threshold."
"Can't we just enjoy it for five seconds?" Luca groaned.
Joey's voice cut through. "Hey, science nerds, loot boxes. Now."
A handful of loot containers had flickered open. He jogged over and popped one.
[Item acquired: Steady-Hand Injector]
[Item acquired: Electromagnetic Pulse Grenade x2]
[Item acquired: Cryo Grenade]
[Item acquired: Muscle Repair Injector]
[Item acquired: Energy Stabilizer Vial]
[Item acquired: Vision Clarity Drops]
[Item acquired: Anti-Collision AI (Schematic)]
The lull wouldn't last. Outside, the alarm kept wailing. The second wave was on its way. He flexed his fingers, feeling the weight of his tomahawk. Time to earn it.
The minutes dragged on. Sweat itched under his suit. His breathing was ragged. He hadn't stopped moving, and the heat from the power systems made the command center feel like a slow-roasting oven. The air stank of burnt metal, scorched flesh, and ozone.
A reflection caught his eye in a pool of blood. Blackened armor. Gore-soaked tomahawk. Hollow eyes. Is that really me?
He grit his teeth and lifted his blaster. Another Varnathi vaulted over a crate. He fired on instinct. It hit the floor in a twitching heap. "We've got this," he muttered.
"Zoe, you've got two trying to flank Luca, take them out." Emily's voice snapped through comms.
"On it," Zoe replied. Two sharp cracks, two bodies dropped. He glanced back. She was low and tight against scaffolding, sniper rifle steady. Unshaken. "You're clear, Luca. Keep them coming."
The second wave hit differently. It felt more coordinated.
Ryan's voice came next, tighter now. "Shift left, Danny. Joey, fall back, you're exposed."
Joey grunted. "Copy. Fuck, they're getting faster."
The enemies weren't just charging; they were coordinating. And then they lost visual. A shimmer flickered in his HUD, then vanished. Cloaked contact.
"Emily!! Behind you!" he shouted. She spun, but not fast enough.
He hit [Proximity Threat Map]. The overlay snapped to life, flooding his vision with movement paths. One red arc angled right for her. No time. He switched to [Target Lock Assist] and yanked his tomahawk from his belt. The enemy's shimmer solidified. He didn't think, he just threw. The tomahawk hummed past Emily's shoulder and buried itself in the invisible Varnathi's skull. Its cloaking failed as it collapsed.
"Holy shit," Emily gasped. "Thanks."
Across the room, something massive hit the floor with a metal clang. "Uh… we've got a big one," Danny said. A Varnathi in heavy exo-armor stomped into view at the east entrance, plasma bolts pinging harmlessly off its reinforced plating. It raised a massive cannon and fired. One of the rear barricades exploded.
Danny roared and charged, warhammer glowing. He slammed it down on the brute's shoulder, the blow sending a shockwave through the floor. The Varnathi stumbled, then stood again.
"You gotta be kidding me," Danny muttered. He hit it again. Then again. A third time. The Varnathi was still standing.
Chris, panting from behind cover, called out: "You want a Power Surge? 'Cause I've got one ready."
"Do it!" Danny barked.
Zoe's voice came through, flat and low. "I'm out of ammo. Reloading. Twenty seconds."
Even Ryan sounded hoarse from the west. "Shit. Luca — Cryo Grenade. Now."
Luca fumbled through his pouch, pulled the canister free, and lobbed it at the tank's feet. A sub-zero mist exploded outward, freezing armor joints mid-stride. Danny's next swing cracked metal. One more—and the brute finally went down, armor fractured like an eggshell.
"Downed!" Danny shouted, out of breath. "Jesus, that guy was a tank."
Joey stumbled over beside him, crouched behind a crate. "That was the second wave?" Luca didn't answer. He was too busy pulling his tomahawk out of the Varnathi skull.
[+196,200 XP]
[+78,750 credits]
[Skill upgrade! Tomahawk Throwing Mastery Level 10 --> Level 11]
[Ability upgrade! Trajectory Focus Level 1 --> Level 2. +10% Range, +5% Accuracy]
[Skill upgrade! Critical Strikes Proficiency Level 6 --> Level 8]
[Item acquired: Power Cell x4]
[Item gained: High Density Plasma Core (Weapon Mod) TL9]
The third wave came in like a storm. They rushed the doors in coordinated waves, snarling and firing. They came screaming through the breaches, a dozen at once, fast and low like they were hopped up on something.
Luca dropped his rifle and brought his tomahawk up just in time to gut the first one. He barely even felt the impact anymore. "Three minutes left," Ryan snapped, voice like gravel. "Hold the line!"
He ducked behind the barricade as plasma bolts tore overhead. He popped back up, shot one in the chest with his blaster, then whipped around and slammed his tomahawk into another that had somehow climbed over the barricade behind him. Every shot, every swing, burned now. His arms felt like stone. The comms were full of heavy breathing and pained grunts.
Emily's voice came through, quieter. "Luca, hang in there. Please." She was scared. For him.
"I've got it," he managed, lying through his teeth.
From the east, he heard Danny yell. "Oh fuck, tank inbound—shit!"
The massive exo-armored Varnathi crashed through the wreckage at the east door. Joey moved to intercept but was too slow. The brute grabbed him mid-run and hurled him across the room like a ragdoll. He smashed into the wall before collapsing behind a crate.
"Joey!" Danny's voice cracked. Then he was moving. His warhammer powered up mid-run. Powered armor vs. powered armor. This was personal.
CLANG. The first hit landed high on the shoulder. The Varnathi staggered, then punched Danny square in the chest, sending him skidding backward. He got up without a word. The second swing came low, cracking armor. The Varnathi lunged with a wrist-mounted plasma blade. Danny sidestepped, but it scraped across his helmet. He spun and brought the hammer down again, overhand. BOOM. The impact lifted the tank off the ground. Still not dead. It raised its cannon.
Danny didn't flinch. He charged into the shot, took it on the shoulder, and brought the hammer down a final time. The Varnathi's helmet imploded. It collapsed in a heap. Danny stood over the wreck, chest heaving, armor steaming. He muttered, low and grim: "That was for Joey." Family hits different.
Across the room, Zoe had switched to her dagger. She moved quickly, spinning, ducking, cutting throats. She was dancing in blood. Emily backed her up, covering her flank, precise despite the shaking in her hands.
Luca felt movement on his side. No ping. Cloaked. He caught a shimmer out of the corner of his eye. Too late. A blade swept in. He activated his active camouflage. The cloak flared, and he dropped through the strike, vanishing. He slid between crates, rolled, and came up behind the enemy. He slit his throat.
"Another cloaked bastard!" Zoe called.
"I see it!" Ryan yelled from the west. He fired his [Arcwave Disruptor]. The shockwave of electricity arced across the floor. The invisible Varnathi howled, convulsing as it dropped. Chris finished it with a clean burst to the head.
"One minute left!" Ryan barked. "Everyone hold!"
[+218,622 XP]
[+87,755 credits]
[Skill Level Up! Silent Movement Mastery Level 10 --> Level 11]
[Ability Level Up! Silent Step Level 1 --> Level 2]
[Skill Level Up! Critical Strikes Level 8 --> Level 9]
[Item acquired: Centauri Juggernaut Mk-64 Command Helm]
[Item acquired: Centauri Phantom Mk-64 Shin Guards]
[Item acquired: Power Cells x4]
[Item acquired: Hyper-Coag Spray]
[Item acquired: Biogel Applicator]
[Item acquired: Auto-Seal Patch]
For a moment, there was silence, broken only by the ragged breathing of the survivors.
"Status," Luca panted into the comms.
"Low on ammo," Zoe reported from her perch.
"My armor's integrity is at forty percent," Chris added.
"Joey?" Luca asked, his voice tight.
Emily was already kneeling beside him, her med-kit open. "He's alive. Cracked ribs, maybe a concussion. He's out of the fight."
One man down. The rest of them were running on fumes.
"Luca," Ryan's voice was sharp, urgent. "Get over here. Now."
Luca crossed the blood-slicked floor to the main command console where Ryan was furiously working. On the central screen, a holographic timer was counting down: 00:34… 00:33…
"That's the timer for the room's security lockdown," Ryan said, pointing to a flashing icon next to it. "When it hits zero, the external doors unlock, and we can walk out. But look at this."
He highlighted a separate protocol. It wasn't a distress beacon. The icon was a blade crossed with a crown. The title read: [Commander's Challenge Protocol].