novelraw Chapter 252 252: The Simulation
Chapter 252 252: The Simulation
The simulation began with the low hum of the transport vehicle's engine as the stand-in battle commander, the lean man named who had volunteered for the role, started driving slowly across the marked route.
The vehicle moved at a deliberate pace, its tires kicking up faint clouds of dust as it approached the shimmering holographic force field in the distance.
Jace was crouched in the back of the vehicle, his body coiled and tense, his breathing steady controlled. He was completely hidden from view, tucked behind a panel that Torvan had rigged to simulate the kind of concealment they would use in the real mission. His white hair was covered by a dark cap, and his white eyes were locked on the back of the man driving head, waiting for the signal.
Tatehan, Riven, and Lyra sat inside the Skyblade at the extraction point, their eyes fixed on the vehicle as it moved closer to the holographic barrier.
The craft was positioned far enough away to simulate the safe distance they would maintain during the actual mission, but close enough that they could see everything that was happening.
Torvan stood off to the side of the field, his special glasses recording every detail, his hands moving across a holographic interface as he monitored the simulation. He had set up proximity sensors, speed trackers, and impact markers that would simulate enemy fire once the scenario reached its critical point.
The vehicle continued its approach, closing the distance to the force field. Fifty meters. Forty. Thirty.
The guy, playing the role of the battle commander, frank by name, brought the vehicle to a stop about ten meters from the holographic barrier. He reached down, grabbed the mock scanning device: a simple metal box that Torvan had rigged with blinking lights to make it look functional, and held it up as if he were activating it.
"Scanning now," Frank said, his voice carrying across the field.
Torvan's interface lit up with simulated data, mimicking the process of the device collecting information from the force field. The hologram shimmered slightly, as if responding to the scan, and for a few seconds, everything was perfectly calm.
And then the explosion happened.
Torvan had rigged the vehicle with small pyrotechnic charges, nothing dangerous actually, but just enough to create a loud bang and a burst of smoke to simulate the distraction they had planned. The charges detonated with a sharp crack, and the vehicle's hood erupted in a cloud of grey smoke, flames licking up from the engine compartment.
That was the signal.
Jace exploded into motion.
He kicked the back panel open, his body already moving before the smoke had fully cleared, and he launched himself out of the vehicle like a bullet. His legs pumped, his arms swung in tight movements, and he shot across the ground at incredible speed, heading straight for the driver's seat where Frank was still sitting.
But he also needed to grab the device.
Jace's hand shot out, snatching the metal box from Frank's grip with precision, and then he shifted his momentum, reaching for Frank himself.
And that was where the problem started.
Grabbing the battle commander: grabbing a full-grown man who was dead weight and not prepared to be hauled out of a vehicle at high speed, slowed Jace down. Not by much, but enough.
His fingers closed around Frank's arm, and he yanked, trying to pull the man out of the seat. Frank, to his credit, was doing his best to cooperate, but his body was awkward, his legs tangled in the seatbelt, and the angle was all wrong.
Jace stumbled slightly, his balance thrown off by the sudden shift in weight, and his speed dropped.
Still fast. Faster than any normal person could hope to move. But not as fast as he had been when he was moving alone.
And in that moment, Torvan triggered the simulated enemy fire.
Red lights flared across the field, holographic projectiles streaking through the air, and impact markers lit up all around Jace's position. The system calculated trajectories, speeds, reaction times, and within half a second, the display showed a hit.
Jace would have been struck. Possibly killed.
Torvan's voice cut through the comms, calm but firm. "Stop. Reset."
Jace released Frank, stepping back, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. The smoke from the explosion was already dissipating, carried away by the wind, and Frank climbed out of the vehicle, brushing himself off.
Tatehan, Riven, and Lyra exited the Skyblade and walked over to where Torvan was standing, their expressions a mix of concern and frustration.
"What happened?" Riven asked, though she already had a pretty good idea.
Torvan pulled up the replay on his interface, showing the exact moment Jace had grabbed Kael and how his speed had dropped just enough to put him in the path of the simulated fire.
"He's fast. Really fast. But grabbing a full-grown person in the middle of a sprint slows him down. Not by a lot, but enough that the Obscuron's defenses would have time to react."
Lyra frowned. "So what do we do? Tell Jace to be faster?"
Torvan nodded. "Let's try it again. Jace, this time, prioritize speed. Don't worry about being gentle. Just grab the battle commander and go. We need to see if you can do it fast enough to avoid the fire."
Jace nodded, his expression determined. "Got it."
They reset the simulation. Frank climbed back into the driver's seat, Jace crouched in the back again, and the vehicle started its slow approach toward the holographic force field for the second time.
Everything played out the same way. The vehicle stopped. Frank activated the device. The explosion went off.
And Jace moved.
This time, he did not hesitate. He grabbed Frank with both hands, hauling him out of the seat with some bit of brutal efficiency, and then he ran. His legs pumped harder, his muscles straining, and he moved as fast as he could while carrying the extra weight.
But it was not fast enough.
The simulated fire triggered again, and this time, the impact markers lit up even more aggressively. Jace had managed to get a few meters farther than the first attempt, but the calculations were clear: he would have been hit multiple times. Possibly fatally.
Torvan's voice came through the comms again. "Stop."
Jace slowed to a halt, setting Kael down gently, and then he stood there, breathing hard, his hands on his hips. He looked frustrated, his face a frown, clearly unhappy with the result.
Tatehan walked over, his armored footsteps heavy on the dirt, and he looked at Torvan. "So what are you saying? That it's not possible?"
Torvan was silent for a moment, his fingers moving across the interface as he reviewed the data from both attempts. He pulled up speed comparisons, trajectory analyses and reaction time calculations. And then he looked up, his expression grim.
"I'm saying," Torvan began slowly, "That carrying the battle commander slows Jace down too much. Even at his best, even if he executes perfectly, the weight and the awkwardness of hauling a person out of a vehicle and then running with them is going to cost him critical seconds. And those seconds are the difference between making it out alive and getting cut down by automated fire."
Riven crossed her arms, her expression troubled. "So what do we do? Leave the battle commander behind?"
Torvan hesitated, and then he nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying. I don't think the battle commander is going to survive this. Not if we want Jace to have a real chance of getting out with the device. The only way to execute this properly is to let the battle commander die in the explosion."
There was a long, heavy silence as the weight of those words settled over the group.
Die in the explosion…
Lyra frowned, her voice quiet. "So we're sending him on a suicide mission."
Torvan did not flinch. "Yes. That's what it comes down to. We can try to sell it to him as a chance for survival, tell him Jace will grab him if there's time, but realistically? He's not making it out. The explosion is the distraction, and if he's still in the vehicle when it goes off, he's done."
Tatehan stared at Torvan, his visor glowing faintly, and then he looked at Jace, who was standing nearby, silent and listening.
"And you're sure there's no other way?" Tatehan asked.
Torvan pulled up the data one more time, running the calculations again, and then he shook his head. "Not with the variables we're working with. If we want the device, if we want the intel, then the battle commander is expendable. That's just the math."
Riven exhaled slowly, shaking her head. "This is brutal."
"Yeah," Torvan said quietly. "It is. But it's the only way."
Tatehan stood there, his mind turning over the implications, the moral weight of what they were about to do, and then he looked at the others.
"Again, I'll repeat, I don't think the battle commander will be surviving," Torvan repeated. "That's the only way to execute this properly."