Nic waited for his squad to say something, and when they didn’t, he answered for them. “No.” Simple enough concept. I’m sure it’s easier said than done, though.

The black walls of cover shot back into the ground and revealed both squads like metal curtains unveiling stage actors. Nic saw that their objective sat on a plinth about 20 meters away, equidistant between them and Team Azure: a 30x30x30cm cube of astrosteel with two timers overlaid on it by his HUD. Both read 0:00, one in red numbers and one in blue.

“Go!” Nic barked.

All five members of Team Scarlet broke into a mad dash for the clock. Team Azure walked forward with their SMGs leveled and pulled their triggers in unison. Through the proximity audio feed, Nic heard Jarek and Perri grunt with the simulated pain of gunshot wounds. Maqsud winced and cursed under his breath. Shanti, as ever, was silent, and Nic was too focused to make a sound either.

Already, several of his squadmates were dropping like flies beside him. Jarek managed to take out a member of Team Azure before losing his life.

JAREK >SMG> LISE

Nic survived with a selfish tactic—hiding behind the astrosteel plinth that held the clock. Astrosteel can’t be damaged by Wargame weapons, he remembered RTIFIS saying at the start of the game. He knew that already, of course, but he remembered that RTIFIS had mentioned that fact specifically—and that gave him an idea.

Nic grabbed the clock and held it out in front of his face, strafing sideways to escape Team Azure. Their shots peppered the clock initially—force of habit, aiming for the head—and this gave him precious seconds until they realized his strategy. They sprayed the tail ends of their magazines on his abdomen and legs. It hurt, but even with their combined efforts, it wasn’t lethal.

NIC [68%]

Team Scarlet was already in the lead.

>SCARLET: 0:12 | AZURE: 0:00

“Whenever you guys respawn, I need backup,” said Nic. He sprinted across the battlefield toward favorable cover. He waited for a reply, repeating his message like a distress beacon. “Repeat, whoever respawns, I need backup ASAP!”

“I’m back in,” said Perri. “I see the HUD tags the location of the carrier. I’m half a klick away, though, on the other side of the map. Max?”

“Right, erm, just got back in,” Maqsud replied, “and I’m headed your way, Nic. Top running speed of 60km/h. I’m about 200 meters away, so that puts me... two minutes out or so. I am... getting winded already, but I’m coming!”

“Thank you,” said Nic. “Please hurry.”

“I see a seriously powerful vehicle on the southern part of the battlefield,” said Perri. “100 meters out of the way, but it could be—”

“No, there’s no time for vehicles,” Nic interrupted. “This is not Arena. This is an objective-based game mode. We need to hold on to this clock for as long as possible. One carrier, four guards on objective at all times. If they grab this from me, they run up their time.”

Perri sighed. “On my way.”

“Shanti, I could use you here, too. Jarek, sound off.”

“Just respawned all the way on the east side of the battlefield,” he replied. “Gonna take me a minute to get there. I’m inbound!”

But it was too late. Hands encumbered by holding the objective, Nic was defenseless when the surviving four members of Team Azure closed in on his position. Rather than dropping the clock and taking potshots at them until his inevitable death, he opted to hold on tight, letting the rounds rip through his mechanical avatar until it was no more.

VERONICA >SMG> NIC SCARLET: 0:58 | AZURE: 0:00

In the emptiness before he respawned, Nic angrily slapped the side of his SimSuit helmet. Come on! I did everything I was supposed to do. I let them blast me half to death just to get hands on the clock and it didn’t even matter! He wanted to reach down into his SimSuit and massage his aching nerve endings, his legs still stinging from the illusory gunshot wounds. Not Wargame material, she said... Not playing like this, we aren’t.

“Azure’s got the clock,” Jarek warned Nic the moment his next proxybot engaged. “I’m pushing the carrier now. Unless you want me somewhere else, boss?”

The genuine respect in his voice was starkly unlike Maqsud’s sardonic quips. I don’t deserve this if we don’t win, Nic thought. “You’ve got the right idea. Everybody, we’ve got to push carrier. Primary target is the carrier—frags first, any weapon pickups you cross, and then SMGs. Once the carrier is down, if you have eyes on the clock, call it out. Everybody else, offer covering fire on all the other blue proxies. Let’s make it happen, Team Scarlet!”

SCARLET: 0:58 | >AZURE: 0:37

“They’re headed my way,” Maqsud reported, huffing with the effort of artificial running. “I’m closest. I’ll do as much damage as I... can when I get there. But I doubt I’ll live... long enough to do much!”

“Thank you, Shanti,” said Nic. “I’m on my way, too. Moving as fast as I can.” The other Azure players are keeping pace with the carrier. You can only run so fast with that thing in your hands, but the rest are slowing down to group up. Smart.

“Perri, what’s that big tank thing called?” Jarek asked.

Perri sighed again. “The Medusa. Why? Don’t tell me...”

“Yeah, Azure’s got one. Got four of ‘em in there. Wait... all five now.”

“And the clock is in there with them,” Nic realized.

“Nothing gets past you, does it?” muttered Max.

“Nothing gets past its astrosteel plating, either,” said Perri. “All other vehicles have strong alloy hulls, but the Medusa is the only vehicle—I guess aside from a starship—that’s protected by astrosteel. That’s why I suggested we grab it...”

“Why do they call the tank the Medusa and not, say, one of the titans from Greek mythology? Atlas, Cronus—Gaia, even?”

“Because if you ever get close enough to see it,” Perri answered gravely, “you’re dead.”

“Please tell me you fought one of these things in the sim,” sighed Nic. I can’t believe I didn’t think to drill vehicles more. I didn’t think they’d be so prominent in the real game...

“Are you willing to listen to me now?”

SCARLET: 0:58 | >AZURE: 1:24

“Perri, we don't have time for this!” Nic shot back. “Bickering isn’t going to solve anything!”

“Permission to steer for a minute?” Perri asked.

“Yes, now please, talk!”

“Talk as we go. Dropping waypoints now.” “Everyone listen carefully. We only have one shot at this!”