THIS STORY WILL BE IN FIRST PERSON UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE!!!
⫷|⫸<~>⫷|⫸<~>⫷|⫸<~>⫷|⫸<~>⫷|⫸<~>⫷|⫸<~>⫷|⫸<~>⫷|⫸<~>
My name is Ehud Aurum Sidus (AN: first is Swedish, last two are Latin if you care LOL), and I am a pretty normal person. Standard strength, above average height, and average intelligence. I like space, planets, and spaceships.
I also have a basic welder in my room, which cost a crap ton of money, but it is incredibly useful for my various projects I tinker with, and I am saving up for a drill. If I can get a drill, a survival kit, and a solar panel, I could be prepared for a disaster, or just dig holes in the dirt to get a few materials. For my projects of course.
I was simply walking to my next class for college when one of the 'bullies' from just around walked towards and past me, trying to trip me. I simply stepped over his leg smoothly and without breaking my stride. He then turned around and kicked at me, but...
Well, you try kicking titanium reinforced combat boots, see how your foot reacts. The corner of my mouth raised slightly as I grinned faintly, and he just muttered under his breath as he sat down and nursed his now bruised foot. Why he keeps doing it, I have no idea. He has to have some intelligence to get into college...
Right?
Anyways, I kept walking, and went to my next class. Engineering! We get to build with some AtomWare tools, build random things like model rockets and machines, and I once even built a... I called it a bunker door, but it was just a strong piston holding a hollow plate of metal to act as a door, without any walls.
I did get really good scores from it. (AN: PLEASE NOTE I HAVE NEVER GONE TO COLLEGE I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE IN IT.) I walked in, waved to the teacher, and sat down at my desk. A few people came in, and then came the person I was dreading.
The Moron is what people call him. Nobody - not even the professors - know why he's in, how he's in, or if he is even supposed to be in. All we know is that the name is really fitting. He didn't even have a 'normal' desk for this class. What I mean is, none of us had seats or desks at first, our first assignment was to build them from scratch.
Because of this, people get some creative freedom with their desks, but mine is simple. Simple, comfortable seat, basic desk over it, and a transparent computer monitor and a simple keyboard. It's also painted black with gold highlights.
However, since the Moron is, well, a moron, he had to get a standard issue desk like we have in other classes. I sighed inwardly as the Moron went and sat down, just in front of me as usual, and just got on my laptop and started working. What was I working on? Well...
I have no idea. It's just a blueprint for something unknown I have no plans for, I just randomly started piecing crap together until it has begun to slightly resemble a spaceship. Specifically, the engine. Today I began working on fuel cells, piping, solid fuel gravity conveyors, and other essentials.
After a few minutes, the class started, and I put away my laptop after saving the progress I had made and listened to the teacher. Today we were going to be doing something that there had been rumors about, but no actual confirmation.
Capture the Flag.
Yes, it sounds stupid and childish, and normally I would agree. But this is going to be different. Every single class in school is going to form four teams, Red, Blue, Green, and Orange. Each team will be as even a mix of possible from every class, and they will use their skills to literally build and prepare defenses for their flag. The only rule is no violence beyond paintball guns, and no impassable defenses. That, and if you get hit by three paintballs from another team, your out.
As soon as the teacher told the class this, chaos broke out, as everyone started asking questions at once. I then stood up, and the people around me slowly quieted down, likely due to the fact I was considered the 'engineering master'. I then asked the teacher "When do we start?"
He simply smiled and said "Now. Go, my class, win! I might get a raise if you do!" I wasn't sure if that last bit was serious or not, but that was all it took for us to swarm the 'lab'. A more accurate name is 'metal shop', as it is basically wood shop, but with metals. And machines. And... yeah you get the idea. I then started the very base of the... base.
I built a layer of 'light armour', painted it black, and then began creating a vehicle. Everyone looked at me weird, but otherwise ignored me as they all tinkered around. Someone was making a paintball turret, someone was making a mobile blockade of sorts, that kind of stuff. I quickly finished the electric 'forklift', which was basically wheels, a lift and stuff to carry stuff, a cargo container, a control seat, and a power source.
I then got in, turned it on, picked up the foundation I had built, and turned it off. I started grabbing as many building materials as I could, calling out "Put your stuff on the metal foundation! We are moving out!" some people put their stuff on the foundation before one even started tinkering as they were on it, and I went and opened a garage door of sorts on the north side of the room.
I turned on and drove the forklift out, jolting the person on the foundation, as I went and parked the forklift on a nice hill. I then flattened the hill with one of the drills we had available, and put down the foundation. One of the other people started going back and forth with the forklift, bringing out more materials for the rest of us.
I started building a bunker of sorts, making a square with a fence around it. Me and another person - I should say that while I do vaguely know a few of my fellow engineers, the people I actually know are in different classes - started making a door. It was rather simple, just a thick two part sliding door with dull 'teeth' to make a tighter seal. We also made it so that when shut, it would magnetically lock, preventing people from forcing it open.
The teacher then came up and said "You all have been assigned to team green. Just to let you know." I then appropriately painted various areas of the bunker green, spray painting it with enthusiasm. The other door engineer then set a pin, and started helping me. We finished up and built a... well. A flare. It was just a thruster, a power source, and a can of compressed green gas we tossed together.
Over the next week or so, the 'base' turned from a collection of scrap into what might be a military installation. Fences, ditches, a path that we would drive an 'armoured' cargo truck along, all of that. What's funny is that while the 'turret guy' did figure out his turret, they had some design flaws.
For example, they fire so fast and recklessly we had to create an automatic resupply crate and set them near each turret. Then there was the targeting system, which made it so that it would shoot anyone not wearing green. Then a gyroscope problem, then another targeting problem...
Well, we did finally complete them, but by the time it was finished after about five days, we were paint covered, tired, and pissed off. We had begun digging out an underground bunker area, and it was quickly finished. It was pretty simple though. It was even air tight and had it's own ventilation system!
Anyways. The bunker was basically a glorified hallway with a paintball turret at the end and security 'checkpoints' that amounted to thin barricades we had bolted to the walls. I made two small generators. One was permanently on, and it and it's cable's were also hidden and painted in a way to suggest they were part of the school property. The second one was obviously from 'The Green Men' as we have been called, and it is barely hidden.
The secret generator powers the doors and other essentials for the base, while the public one powers the lights. The public one also has a connected dead switch in a security office I have meant to control the turrets, doors, and lights. Pretty simple really.
And finally, after over two weeks of preparation, the dreaded day came. After the first class of the day, an announcement came that said "Teams, assemble to your positions! Good luck, and may the games begin!" everyone swarmed out, and was out in a few minutes, but I hung back a little and just before I got out I heard a second announcement saying "We will announce the start of the game through the PA system, and then we will send messengers to each team five minutes after!"
I grinned, and found the nearest PA. I hooked a wire to it, and started stringing it all the way over to our base. I then hooked it up to a sound device I borrowed from one of my team members. We waited anxiously, before the message "Begin!!!" came from it. We cheered and separated to our 'posts'. I then hopped in the truck, which had been modified into an APC. It even had a turret on top!
I called over the 'army men', which were the members of green team that could run the fastest and aim the best, and were meant for assaulting. They hopped into the back of the truck, shut the door, and I floored it.
We lurched forward, cheering, as we went to the nearest base, Red, which had been marked with a colored flare. All the bases had them hovering over them, so while stealth was an option, it was hard. We reached the other base in a few minutes - the property is massive, and there is essentially a giant park as the back yard of the college - and quickly 'engaged' the 'enemy'. What I mean by that is I parked the car and sat back as the turret quickly shot three paintballs at all the red team people, making them yell in shock.
We all unloaded, and while a couple people sourly shot at us with their paintball guns, they were quickly subdued - with more paintballs -. We then walked into red base, quickly shooting the last few people in it, before grabbing their flag and walking out. We had 'lost' two people though. The 'slain' people just got on the truck and put all their paint away, leaving it for other people. We went back to our base, and saw two orange team people walking away. That, or blue team.
I got out, went up to the person assigned as 'director', and said "What were those two doing here?" she then said "Scouting or something. You really were smart, making the base on a hill. The turrets saw them practically a mile away and very quickly took them down when they entered the turrets range." I just said "Thanks. We got the red flag, and unless some of them were gone or hiding, their all out." she just said "Nice work, we should go for blue next."
I nodded, waving as I went for the truck, when someone yelled "Incoming!" and then what felt like thousands of both blue and orange paintballs fell down from the sky and splattered everywhere. While lots missed, a quantity over quality kind of situation happened, so at least eleven people got out and five turrets were even 'blinded' when paint splattered over their sensors. While it didn't break them, it stopped them from detecting anything.
I ran for cover, rolling to stop with my back against the side of the APC we had built. I leaned out, and had to hide again as about five paintballs flew through the air towards me. Someone called out for a retreat, and we all ran. I slipped on the smooth metal, making me miss the button to shut the door. One last person ran through, and I then shut the door.
We all sat there for a minute, panting and paint splattered. Someone then said "Move, secure the bunker, they could get through at any minute, no lock is perfect." we all filtered around, going deeper and deeper to find barricades to stay behind as we prepared. I went to the security office, looking through some of the limited cameras. I then locked the door to the office, and prepared for them to come through.
A warning flashed on the console, and when I looked at it, I was both shocked, and incredibly bemused. They had somehow decided that opening the panel that the lock keypad was on and then messing with the wiring was a great idea. They had somehow disabled the hydraulics of the door, meaning that...
It wouldn't open. While yes, there was no longer an over two thousand PSI pressure keeping the doors closed, they still had to deal with the strong electromagnets in the door. Then, to my shock, those were also disabled. I called out over the PA "They just disabled all the main mechanisms in the door! Prepare for a breach!" and like I had triggered a flood, the door was very slightly cracked open.
I then heard - through a camera - someone on the other side say "Why won't this thing open? What did they make this from!?" before someone else said "Maybe move it together?" and then multiple fingers peeked through and they started pulling it open again.
The door then got unjammed and it suddenly flew open, with our side opening 'fire' and immediately spraying the other team with paintballs. The people that were on the other side scowled and walked away. There was nothing. Suddenly, something round rolled in. As I zoomed the camera in on it, I then realized what it was and yelled "Grenade!" but it was too late.
The round 'grenade' unfolded and sprayed paint everywhere in half second bursts, quickly 'terminating' the people around it and leaving orange paint everywhere. Multiple people then ran it, from both blue and orange, and started shooting down the hall. A quick battle later, and I had shut a security door and they were doing something to it again.
They had disabled the cameras, and then they went and opened the door again. I then shut all the doors behind them, which they didn't notice, and they continued marauding in. They quickly overwhelmed most of our team, but they themselves lost about three quarters of their forces. They eventually reached our flag and red teams flag, and yet despite there being nobody else, I noticed something odd.
I had given everyone small gadgets that some other smart engineer made that would 'monitor their vitals', which was fancy for detecting how many paintballs they had been hit with, and yet there were still fifteen other people on green team with no or minimal 'damage', and yet nobody in the base was fighting. I then noticed that these fifteen were all missing from the base.
The blue and orange joint team then left, each team taking a flag each with them, before quickly leaving. They practically seemed to sigh in exasperation, and went to open the last doors that I had shut to trap them in. Someone then pointed out the door to the security office. I froze as three people went to the door.
One of them then said "This one doesn't have a keypad. Do you think..." and another answered "A panic room? Nobody ever disappeared around here or retreated, it could just be storage." one of the downed green team people just said "Oh yeah that's just storage for the paintball turrets I am sure you are familiar with." I sighed in relief as they left.
I lost track of them after they left the area with working cameras, but the console did show that the last of the doors was opened, so I assumed they had left. I peeked out and left the room when I saw nobody not on green team was there. I thanked the person who hadn't revealed me and went to the entrance of the base. I stared over the hill we had been on and noticed something odd.
Two colored squares were approaching. One was blue and the other was orange. I then realized it was the enemy flags. I looked closer, and saw the fifteen 'missing soldiers' approaching, carrying the flags with them. I laughed as they approached, saw that we had failed, and simply smiled. One then asked me "Wanna go grab our flags?"
I nodded, hopped in the drivers seat of the APC - or the truck - and drove away when everyone was in. I then went to the orange base, and we saw the orange group with the red flag, carrying it into a cave. Me and the fifteen survivors then set up an ambush, with me even repairing the turret on the APC by scraping the paint off of the sensors.
We then heard an outcry of rage before the orange team rushed out of the cave. We quickly gunned them down, waltzed past them, and took the red flag, storing it in the back with the orange and blue flags that we had decided to bring with us. We then went on to blue base.
Once there, we had to quickly assault them frontally as they had already learned of the deceit and were marching back to orange base with the green flag with them. And by frontal assault, I mean I drove by and made doughnuts around them as some of the soldiers of sorts in back leaned out carefully to make potshots at the blue team, and that plus the turret quickly whittled them down. We lost about six people though.
We claimed the last - and our - flag and packed it in back, heading back to the school. We stopped in front of the engineering class garage, and when a teacher came to investigate, we proudly stood in front of him, us ten, paint splattered men, all holding the four flags. The teacher identified us as green team and went back in, probably to report our success.
As all the teams trickled back to us, teachers trickled out of the school.
A few days later, a ceremony was held to celebrate green team winning the first 'Semi Annual workmanship games', or whatever they were called. I didn't care, as me and the rest of green team won and we got a lot of high scores for all of my classes, which brought most people up a lot. I didn't need the grades much, but it was helpful. That, and standing in front of three quarters of the school as the principle congratulates you and the other quarter of the school is a good feeling.