“Wait,” said Jarek, “so, how’s Power Play any different from regular Arena?”

RTIFIS continued. The Simnasium was quiet enough for Nic to hear the smothered hiss of the Corvette’s water filtration system working in the background as everyone waited with bated breath to hear what the AI said next.

“No way,” Nic breathed. His head spun with the possibilities.

“Rocket Launchers?” Jarek asked.

“Sniper Rifles?” added Maqsud. “Ultravisions?” The Scarlet players’ eyes widened with intrigue and excitement.

Max was laughing now, even applauding each new detail the AI revealed. “Oh, I believe this is shaping up to be the most chaotic mess of a mode we’ve encountered to date!”

“Any Harpies that I can fly around, RTIFIS?” Perri asked with a bright smile and a fluttering of her eyelashes. “Or even a nice set of wheels?”

Perri blew a lock of blond hair out of her face with a frown. “Oh, well. I’ll get by without them.”

The others shook their heads, so Nic answered, “Ready us up, RTIFIS. Let’s get out there and hope we get some good loadouts!”

“I’m offering up a silent prayer to RNJesus as we speak!” Max snickered.

Before Nic had a chance to figure out what that meant, his POV switched to his first active proxybot. Unlike at the start of Arena, where all the teams were grouped together, he saw that he was completely alone at his spawn point.

They were back on a battlefield similar to their first Wargame of Arena. There were lookout towers and cover walls aplenty; this battlefield was situated on a different patch of Nereus land, however, because Nic saw a cave nearby that would serve as an excellent hiding or surveillance spot. Pretty prone to rockets or grenades, though, he thought. A light fog was rolling in from the nearby sea that dampened the already damp environment, and he briefly wondered if there was a single patch of dry land on Nereus that wasn’t thoroughly moistened by the oceans. It was no wonder that some microbial life may have already evolved here.

Focusing on the Wargame at hand, Nic checked his loadout. He was armed with a Submachine Gun, standard Frag grenades, and—to his surprise and delight—a Shotgun. He’d never had much of a chance to use a Shotgun in live Wargame matches until today. On top of that, his randomized Upgrade Pak was an Armorizer. My favorite!

“Upgrade activate!” he called out excitedly.

NIC [200%] >>ACTIVE UPGRADE PAK: ARMORIZER<<

This upgrade tinged his HUD a bright neon green and, much more helpfully, doubled his available health while it was in use. The electromagnetic shield had a battery-dependent charge that faded by one point per second; he’d have to take advantage of it quickly before it depleted. Time to find a target.

Cresting a pebble-crusted hill, he came upon a broader swath of the battlefield, and he could pick out a few skirmishes taking place, mostly purple on yellow so far.

“Engaging Xanthic!” Jarek hollered. A violent explosion roared in the team chat; Nic could also hear the real thing from this distance, such was the carrying power of the Nereus air. “Woo! What’s good, Xanthic? What’s good?”

JAREK >ROCKET LAUNCHER> ROLAN >SCARLET: 1 | TYRIAN: 0 | XANTHIC: 0

On the board already. Good. Let’s keep this streak going! Nic trotted down the hill in pursuit of a Tyrian player, Tariq. The purple proxybot activated his blue Upgrade Pak and took to the air—a jetpack.

“Engaging Tariq!” Nic announced in the private Scarlet team chat. Then, through his proximity speakers, he taunted the airborne Tyrian player. “You should come down here and get a little closer! I don’t bite!” He raised his SMG and started firing. “This thing sure does, though!”

Tariq returned fire with his Sniper Rifle, but at such a close range, it was difficult to line up a shot using the sensitive scope. Nic watched him fail miserably at no-scoping, the rounds blasting up bits of mud and pebbles at his feet. Scarlet 1 tracked the moving target as best he could and emptied his first SMG clip before switching to reserve ammo.

NIC [169%] >>ACTIVE UPGRADE PAK: ARMORIZER<< TARIQ [58%] >>ACTIVE UPGRADE PAK: JETPACK<<

Tariq let loose with some Pistol shots instead—some missed wildly but others hit their mark. Nic squeezed his trigger and unloaded more SMG rounds on his aerial foe, but even with perfect aim, they wouldn’t do enough damage to finish Tariq off completely. Nic gritted his teeth through the pain of his simulated bullet wounds and switched to his Shotgun.

“Any last words?” Tariq taunted him back, yanking the pin from one of his Frag grenades. He tossed it casually down toward Nic.

Just one. “Pull!” Nic fired his Shotgun at the incoming explosive. His bold tactic paid off when it lessened the damage a more direct frag explosion would have done to him.

NIC [127%]

“So much for last words!” Nic shot back. “I’m still sitting pretty. You should check your math next time!”

“Check my math, eh? Here’s an equation for you...” Tariq soared even higher into the sky, so high that Nic could barely hear his shouts over the roar of the Jetpack. “Distance plus Sniper Rifle equals increased accuracy!”

Tariq was on his second magazine—Nic counted—but this one proved much more productive. Two shots hit Nic in his right foot, dealing some damage, but the real payback came in a shoulder shot that exited Nic’s proxybot through the lower back. He was grateful for his Armorizer.

NIC [56%]

By the time Nic took the third Sniper round, he had already started the process of an evasion somersault—the other two shots narrowly missed thanks to his quick footwork. Now Tariq’s Jetpack was starting to give out. The Tyrian player slowly descended from his great height, much to his apparent horror.

“No, no, no,” Nic could hear Tariq muttering. He must have forgotten to turn off his proximity chat.

“I’ve got a different equation for you,” Nic finally replied. “Jetpack plus time equals a shell to the chest!”

As Tariq’s depleted Upgrade Pak finally ran out, he hovered down against his will, finally in prime range for Nic to take his new Shotgun for a spin. A thunderous boom signaled the Tyrian player’s demise.

NIC >SHOTGUN> TARIQ >SCARLET: 6 | TYRIAN: 3 | XANTHIC: 2

“Well done, Team Scarlet!” Nic congratulated his squad. He was so busy with his own battle that he hadn’t noticed notifications for his squadmates’ kills. “Keep up the good work!” At this rate, a second W will be ours in no time.

Just then, a Xanthic player emerged from behind cover. Nic’s HUD highlighted them in red—they were using an active melee-damage-boosting Upgrade Pak.

NIANZU [100%] >>ACTIVE UPGRADE PAK: BERSERK<<

Nianzu had a single Pistol strapped to his ammo belt and lacked a backup. Must have burned through the ammo, Nic thought. Or maybe he ditched it. Thought he wouldn’t need it. He smirked. Either way, it’s time to make him wish he still had it.

The Xanthic proxy put his head down and broke out into a sprint. He charged straight for the Scarlet Squad Leader, who didn’t flinch in the slightest.

“If you’re waiting for me to backpedal in fear,” Nic yelled, beating his chest with his free hand, “don’t hold your breath!” Nianzu readied his fists and Nic leveled his Shotgun. “Nereus is OUR planet! You wanna take it, you better hit hard! COME GET ME!” He pulled the trigger, his teeth bared in his SimSuit helmet, thirsty for virtual blood.