Half Life

9 years later

The bell rang. A flood of Space Corps cadets immediately flooded out of the training academy, eager to get to their personal time.

Danny waded through the crowd, shouting over the noise,

"That test totally sucked! How soon do you think you can hack into the score results?"

Tucker hurried up next to him, hand pressed over his integrated earpiece.

"I'm ashamed at your confidence in me!" he exclaimed. They managed to break away from the crowd, drifting to a corner of the grounds.

"I've had the test answers pulled up since this morning. And, by the way, they're only running a barely different random number generator than last time. It really takes the fun out of cheating dude."

"And I guess actually studying like the rest of us is beneath you too?" a snarky voice called. They turned around. Sam was approaching, her ruffled hair petals suggesting that she had been running her hands through them.

"Hey, answers are answers. Find them, remember them, hack them, whatever. It's all about using your resources," Tucker shrugged, flipping his goggles to transparent mode. He could now be mistaken for a teenager wearing glasses instead of integrated technology.

Sam shook her head defeatedly.

"But when can you get the results?" Danny repeated anxiously.

"Cool the jets! Professor won't finish scoring them for at least another hour. What are you so worried about anyway? No one knows Space Studies like you do."

"I just... really want this application to go well," Danny admitted. "I mean, Casper Institute. It's the first step to becoming a scout."

"Relax," Sam comforted, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "You're a shoo-in for acceptance. Only Jazz has ever beaten your scores, and that's only because she barely slept for the whole of finals week."

Tucker rolled his eyes.

"Quit talking about it will you? Come on. Let's go play some video games. I just got the newest edition of 'Bounty'. I haven't even played it yet!"

Danny grinned, ignoring the stress for a moment.

"Okay... but your house this time. My parents are on an inventing hype again."

"Deal."

............................................................................

The virtual reality blossomed around them.

"Dude, check it out! You get to deck out your character any way you want!" Tucker exclaimed. He immediately selected an armored combat suit and changed his eye color to a bright purple. Sam considered the weapon and clothing choices. She could grow her own bio armor, given enough time, but Danny knew she liked the edgy, black and spiky look. And sure enough, after browsing for a moment she selected an entirely black outfit. It tucked around her body, encasing her light green skin in it's metallic protection.

Danny flipped through customization options. He decided on a simple black and white combat/ space suit.

"Let's roll," Tucker announced. "Run 'Bounty' file 1, save under trial."

The room morphed around them. Swirling stars and planets whirled as they shot forward. A deep, official sounding voice announced,

"Welcome to Bounty. Your target is Pariah Dark, the dictator of this system. He rules from this planet and has threatened to destroy any system that crosses him. He is preparing, even now, to wipe out the planet Langoria."

Images of Pariah Dark flashed in front of them. The game had designed him to be huge. With his black skin and glowing green eyes he looked like he was modeled after the warrior race of Grangens.

"His armada has been deployed, and it is your orders to destroy as many as possible before they reach Langoria. Target their battleships to knock out all jamming technology and our fleet will provide backup."

Danny felt the adrenaline of the game surge through him.

"Good luck."

The game began. He, Sam, and Tucker were all manning agile fighter craft and heading headlong into enemy fire. Danny threw up his shields, glancing quickly around at his surroundings. A mottled brown and blue planet lay behind them, and layers of drones surrounded the three massive battleships of Pariah Dark.

Bursts of gunfire rained down on him. Shields were already down to 70%. He ducked below the line of fire, shooting toward the farthest battleship.

"Danny, you've got a squad of drones on your tail, " Sam warned. A moment later, her ship shot overhead, eliminating the drones.

"Thanks," he called.

"These things have some hardcore armor," Tucker reported. "I hit it with three proton missiles in a row and barely punched a dent."

"Watch for the main guns," Danny suggested, wheeling in front of his target. "They might have weaker shields to let the gunfire out."

Even as he watched, a brilliant, blue-white light began to swell from the ship's massive front gun.

"I think it's getting ready to fire!" Danny yelled, diving out of the way.

And a second later, he was proven right. An intense light blasted from the battleship, lazering right toward the planet. As it neared, the beam splintered into a million shafts of burning light. They slammed into the planet, hurling debris outward.

"We're too late!" Tucker called. "We have to start over and try another tactic. Restart on my signal."

The display showed Danny that Tucker and Sam had already signed out of the game. But he remained floating. The battleships converged on the planet. They reigned unchallenged, shredding Langoria into rubble.

He felt his chest tighten. He could not shut his eyes, could not turn away from the devastation. Screams from the game's radio communications came from the planet. And still the ships kept firing.

He couldn't breathe. Danny gasped, his eyes locked onto the dying planet. Old memories were forcing themselves onto him. Alone, drifting, injured. Rubble. Shrapnel. Ships. A threat. He had to tell someone... no he had to stay secret.

Why, why, WHY?!

The battleships fired one last massive bolt of light, and the screen went dark.

Game Over. Play Again?

Danny slammed the exit button. The walls flickered around him, the smooth metal returning to its usual state.

"Dude, what happened? Why didn't you sign- woah. Are you okay?" Tucker asked, noticing Danny's face.

Danny swallowed, feeling like he might throw up.

"I- I'm fine," he said loudly. To his horror, he felt tears beginning to prick his eyes. His contacts! Blinking hard, he turned around.

"Just the test. I have to get home. Sorry."

Leaving Sam and Tucker bewildered, he ran out of the room.