I scrambled as best I could to the barrier units. They weren’t completely fried but were in bad condition. They definitely wouldn’t survive this. I started charging them with entropy and setting them to their decay field mode. It started sparking ominously as it neared its full charge. I started charging the second from the left side. “Here goes nothing! Fall back!” Exxes just did a couple back handsprings away disengaging seamlessly with a lithe grace. Jester boosted back and up, easily clearing the blast zone. He remained hovering and continued to pick off the stragglers, as the horde started pushing in from all sides on our position. I threw both of them into the largest group of them. The densest portion of the horde, it contained about half of their remaining forces. We were really close to the end of this, so it would seem.

The first time you see something so destructive that it defies your preconceptions, it often has the effect of making you look on in disbelief. I was looking on in disbelief as the equivalent of a gravity well opened up in the densest portion. The goblinoids were being drawn to it and being compressed into a smaller and smaller space. Stragglers were trying to flee from it, but often their progress was halted almost cartoonishly, before being pulled towards it slowly but surely. Now upon further jaw slacked observation it could be clearly seen that the goblinoids were being pressed together in a solid mass. Many weren’t dead, but just struggling in vain. That’s when the second turn of events occured. The unit’s detonated. It seems that the drain they caused by draining Aether was exceeding their ability to contain that energy. Simply put, it seems that if there are enough sources to pull Aether from, it can exceed its usage rates. Did I mention they exploded? 2/3rds of the remaining group was evaporated as the devices went super critical. All three of us were blown back by the shockwave.

Amidst the wreckage that was us, Exxes was the first to recover. “Doc. What the fuck was that!?”

“Would you believe me if I said a happy accident?”

“Not sure happy is the right word. Jester, can you continue with the mop up?”

“Affirmative, it caused turbulence, but it wasn’t as debilitating as it was for you two.”

Exxes suddenly started to bang on one of her legs. “Godfuckingdamnit, you break now of all times? Damn it! I’m down a leg. I can’t take the front position. My mobility is too reduced. Can you do anything that won’t kill us Doc?”

“Yeah. I should be able to tank for you. Can you get behind me and stab anything that tries to get by me?”

“I should be able to do that.”

I finished taking inventory of my systems. My 2hnder was experiencing some sort of issue, the buckler was fine, both back weapons were toast, my sidearm was still good, my shotgun worked, something had sheared off my quarrel launcher, and my defense unit was on it’s last leg. I pulled out my sidearm, and buckler. I fired up the buckler in shield mode. I moved to the front to meet three incoming goblinoids, Exxes moving in behind me. I blasted the three incoming apart and back into a gore spray as I tested my FFE Force flavored burst unit built into the shield. It looked kinda like a shield shaped projection hit them like a sledgehammer moving at Mach 2. It immediately drained the FFE unit. Definitely a one off. I started picking the approaching goblinoids as the came at me. Exxes leg units become as reliable as a Spartan spearman formation. The legs skewered anything that tried to flank us. Allowing me to keep firing away, and only using the shotgun blasts for things trying to rush us from the front. This last bit became a slog. My systems kept everything I was using charged up, but it was mentally fatiguing. I managed to dive at a group and use my FFE unit once more when it finally charged up. That took almost 20 minutes. It was a slog. I’m certain that if we hadn’t carved them down to these final numbers we would have been just decimated. It seemed as a group that we really did compliment each other, even in the face of adversity. The real test came when the heavy showed up. It wasn’t just a heavy though. It was the boss. He stood almost twice as tall as one of the other little fuckers. He had been harassing us through the fight. Throwing his units at as like projectiles, and keeping Jester from targeting him in much the same way. I noticed as he came up that his armor had taken one of my 2hnder rail shots. A patch of clean green skin where the armor should have been covering.

“Shit this guy regenerates. I think we are going to have to get creative with this.”

“No more of those bombs!”

“I don’t think I could do that again. I think it was a perfect storm of circumstances.” I barely managed to get out between the blows being rained down on me by the big guy. Exxes was a little bit further back than she had been, but she was using her legs to try and keep him on his toes so he couldn’t overwhelm me.

“I don’t have anything that could help.” Joker called out.

“Doc, hope you have something else interesting. I really don’t want to wipe after all this.”

“I think so?”

“I don’t like the lack of confidence.”

“It’s never been tested! How should I know if it’s going to be enough!”

“Exxes, I think it should be alright. He has proved plenty reliable. If it doesn’t work. It may provide us the advantage we need.”

“Go for it doc. Give it your best shot. Jester is right.”

I start charging my shotgun preloads, one light, one electricity. It takes just a moment as nothing else is charging. I wait to deflect a heavy blow. He swings wildly down, I manage to just barely parry it. He is thrown off and kinda stumbles forward. I reach low by my hip planning for an all in uppercut. On the way up I pop the FFE on my shotgun array. I visualize the pile driver punch, and fire off everything all at once. The stored Aether starts ripping apart the rig arm, but it dutifully takes the shape of an arm, a pile driver unit, and it crackles with energy. It’s nearly three times the size of the rig arm. It slams into the goblinoid commander’s chest and carves a path up it’s chest, It stops at its face just barely lifting the commander off his feet. The pile driver fires. The head, shoulders, and part of the chest vaporize as the plasma blasts out from the explosive charge driving the fist shaped Aether through where his upper torso used to be. The Aether destabilizes. I’m down an arm. It feels really, really, really weird to be missing my arm again.

“I don’t think I have anything left. Pretty sure my rig unit is failing on several fronts.”

“Pretty sure that did it.” Said a slightly stunned Exxes.

A couple of shots fired out and seemed to turn the remaining flesh to stone, before a final brick shot smashed it all to rubble. “Now it is. He was starting to regenerate. Probably would of been a brain dead moron if he regenerated, but it would count as a fail if we left him alive.”

“Thanks for the assists.”

A pleasant and cheery ding sounded throughout space. “That completes the simulation 1-581. A provisional Rank of A has been provided to N. Wolfe. Team Jokers Wild will be granted an operational rank of A, upon completion of course 2-34 and 3-75. Good luck.”

It wasn’t a voice I recognized, but had too much inflection to sound like a system message. “Are we being watched?”

“Yes, but why would you ask that?”

“By who, and why did we just get graded?”

“We queued up an official simulation so it was graded, If my guess is correct that sounds like the Madame board director herself. Guess you have drawn some attention Doc.”

Erin’s voice chimed in over the space. “That was me. I may have filed a review document to Madame board director herself. We were testing new tech and Wolfe is a bit of a celebrity. Seems my plan worked out.”

That same voice rang out again. “Yes, it did. Keep up the good work Wolfe. Although I think you might want to look over the flaws in the prototype. It shows promise.”

Erin’s voice chimed in again. “Thank you Madame director. I’ll let you know when we run the other modules.”

“Does anyone else feel like we are being talked over?” I asked to the other two that were now standing next to me.

“I do get that feeling.” replied exxes.

“I second that. How about we get out of here. I ordered a pie and some burgers from a diner this morning. Should be here, if my math is correct. Hopefully, you guys are okay with just some basic bacon cheeseburgers and a lemon meringue pie. I’m personally famished. There is enough for two burgers a piece, and well a fourth of a pie. Should give us time for the boxes to repair our units and Doc to print a new one.”

“Burgers and a lemon meringue pie? Are you sure you aren’t a stalker? That’s pretty much the best pie known to man.” Clearly in awe of the superior food choices. I might have drooled a little if I was in my actual body. I think?

“I can take or leave the pie, but those burgers sound like heaven.”

“I figured we could all use a good first meal. A kind of a welcome to the team kind of thing. “

I looked down at my ruined arm, cracked armor, and the various fluids leaking out of the various scarring all over the unit. “I think this one needs to be retired. I think it did okay for a prototype. I got to test pretty much everything. That is a bonus in my book.”

Jester and Exxes eyed my unit. Exxes spoke first. “I’d like you to take a look at my unit. I think I might be able to make an improvement or 2.”

Jester quickly followed up. “We have the time and I think I could use a look over as well. I think I could make better use of my abilities if I wasn’t having to power them on the fly. I could also use an ace up the sleeve or two.”

“Sure. If you think you can benefit from it. A stronger team is always better. Let’s get that food. I think I’m starving? Does Aether use burn calories?”

Jester always mr. helpful piped up. “No, not really, but heavy Aether use is akin to running a marathon.”

“That would explain it.” We drug ourselves over to where their boxes were located. “How do I get out of this?”

“Since it doesn’t have a dock and being a prototype, just signal for a Disconnect. Erin should be able to do it for you.” Exxes said as she turned away. Giving just a moment to realize that the porcelain style mask had a spider web like crack that started by the edge near her right ear.

“Hey Exxes when did you get hit in the face? I never saw anything come close.”

“I wasn’t hit, that was from the blast of that last attack. That’s the first time my mask has ever received damage. I think I might scan it and keep the design. That was some show Wolfe.”

“Hey, Erin can you disconnect me?” I immediately felt like I was falling backwards into ice water. I opened my eyes to see Erin hovering over me. Before I could react or respond, she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Good job out there.”