Metal heated up the air around it as it flew and spun. Faster than the human mind and eye could discern, it bore up to its target. With a victorious ring, it found it's mark.
"Disable Sidewinder's pack," Paragon ordered. For safety's sake, the bullets weren't allowed to penetrate any of the living participants or their gear. So Doc had taken control over all the equipment from the control room in order to simulate the outcomes of a real battle. There were other safe guards to prevent serious injury; but only serious injuries. Anything less was considered on par with what these people could handle.
Adem and Icarus dropped towards the ground. Adem's suit changed into something more capable of absorbing the force of the fall. Icarus pushed a small button on his belt. Two tiny parachutes launched from his pack. They were too small and he too close to the ground to prevent a painful impact, but they would slow him down enough to make the impact less painful.
Adem hit with a thud and rolled. Icarus was not too far behind him. The alien quickly went over to help his teammate up.
Brianna and Dirk’s simulations were closing in. They saw Adem look up and notice them. Quickly, he took off, leaving Sidewinder crumpled on the ground. His long legs began to pump furiously as he returned to running. Dirk lifted up his gun and took aim.
His body slammed against the ground under the weight and momentum of Lykopis. The two rolled along the ground, already involved in combat. They each let go and rolled up to their feet. Without hesitation they charged and began to swap blows. Dirk threw both fists, which she grabbed and held tightly. Instantly, his forehead crashed against her face. He fell back, pulling her with him, and used his foot to flip her over him. Lykopis scrambled to her feet. Her mind was formulating a new method of attack to counter this almost berserker like attitude.
Banshee pulled her wings in close. Her body began to streak down from the sky mimicking a hawk closing in on its prey. And like a jack rabbit, Adem continued to run from her. Her eyes narrowed as she came within a few feet of him. But they were soon filled with thick, white smoke that seemed to pour up from the ground itself. Brianna opened her wings to slow her decent and pull her up from her collision course with the ground. As she exited the cloud of smoke, a tiny dart stuck into her arm. Just as the real Brianna might react, the computer simulated one found herself being pulled deep down into a black, dreamless sleep.
With his legs stretching out over the sandy ground, Adem kept running. A hole appeared a few feet in front of him. A hand reached out and grabbed his leg. The alien’s body jerked, and he went crashing face first into the dirt. “Welly, welly, well. Wot ‘ave we got ‘ere?” Grissom Montag pulled himself from underneath the ground. “Looks like I just caught me a victory.”
“Not quite,” Adem responded while rolling over to his back.
“And why not? I got you; therefore, I got the flag.”
“That would be true if I had the flag.” The alien’s face looked almost uncaring, but the voice carried a bit of pride and laughter. He pointed back the way he came. Icarus Sidewinder stood above a mesa waving his team’s flag.
“Git the rocket boy!” Grissom yelled to his teammates.
“That would prove to be an utter waste of time and energy,” Gaunt replied from a behind the Brit. On his outstretched arm was draped the flag of the Vanguard International team. “It seems that my companions and I have already won.”
