CO-OP (Animus Book 2), page 1
CO-OP
Animus™ Book Two
Joshua Anderle
Michael Anderle
CO-OP (this book) is a work of fiction.
All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright © 2018 Joshua Anderle and Michael Anderle
Cover Art by Jake @ J Caleb Design
http://jcalebdesign.com / jcalebdesign@gmail.com
Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing
A Michael Anderle Production
LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact support@lmbpn.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
LMBPN Publishing
PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89109
First US edition, September 2018
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Author Notes
Books by Michael Anderle
Connect with The Authors
The CO-OP Team
Thanks to the JIT Readers
Mary Morris
Kelly O’Donnell
John Ashmore
James Caplan
Angel LaVey
Daniel Weigert
Kelly Bowerman
Larry Omans
Danika Fedeli
Micky Cocker
If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know!
Editor
Lynne Stiegler
To Family, Friends and
Those Who Love
to Read.
May We All Enjoy Grace
to Live the Life We Are
Called.
Chapter One
Commander Sasha Chevalier finished typing his notes and preparing his plans for the board meeting. An owl, its body blue wire-frame with large round white eyes, appeared on his desk, sitting on a small artificial tree.
“Sir, Chou, Councilor Vodello’s EI, sent a message. She said that Mya would like to know if you are still going to make it to the meeting?” it asked in a muted, straightforward tone.
He nodded. “Please send a message back that I will leave my office momentarily and see her there.”
“Understood, sending response immediately.”
“Thank you, Isaac. Once you’ve sent the message, prepare for ocular integration,” the commander added.
The owl avatar nodded, disappearing after a moment. Sasha pressed a button on the base of the tree and a small chip popped out. He took it in his fingers, careful not to handle the surface. The device seemed little more than a small silver square except for a large N in the center engraved with a triangular design around it—the Nexus Academy crest.
He picked up his oculars—a round band with black circular lenses—and slid the chip into a small slot next to the right lens before placing them on his head. The head of the owl appeared in the corner of his display. “Should I send the notes to anyone before we depart?”
“Send a copy to my tablet. I may work on them some more during the league discussions.” The commander placed said tablet into a briefcase which contained other devices and chips.
The owl nodded, and its eyes lit up. “Understood, and sir…”
“We are being pinged?” he asked, closing and locking his case.
“You could tell?”
“Your eyes flashed for a moment,” Sasha explained, and the owl’s already large eyes widened further.
“I could not tell. No detection on my end.”
Sasha walked out of his office and closed the door. “No need to worry. It simply means he’s getting impatient.”
“Who is…ah, I see. No hacker would be able to remotely access the oculars on such a micro scale without—”
“Access to the main connection located in the head professor’s office,” Sasha finished as he walked down the two flights of stairs to the exit.
“Should I tell him you are on your way? Along with a request to not be so evasive in the future?”
“No need. Besides, he’s likely to erase your memory of it the next time he updates you.”
The owl’s eyes shrank to half their size in an exaggerated response before returning to their normal size. The feathered avatar furrowed in annoyance. “Has this been a normal occurrence?”
“Only over the last few months. He says you’ve been saying insulting things about him, and that you are a bad influence.”
“He does know that most of my opinions are derived from yours?”
Sasha reached the ground floor and chuckled in dry amusement. “Yes, but he cannot erase my mind on a whim.”
The EI’s eyes narrowed. ”That seems like an abuse of power. I can see why you find him such a bother.”
“I’ve learned to pick my battles,” Sasha admitted, pushing open the side exit door of the Nexus Board Hall. “Besides, for all the strife he may cause, you would not exist without his genius.”
“A fair assessment, sir,” Isaac admitted. “I merely wish he was as mature as his intellect would make him seem.”
“Is that damn bird saying things about me again?”
Sasha turned to see Professor Alexander Laurie just up ahead on a bench beneath an evergreen tree in the plaza.
“Well, if you are tapped into my device, you should know,” Sasha retorted.
Laurie stood and brushed some of his long hair behind his ear. “I don’t, but considering how rude he’s been, it was a fair guess. I don’t tap your EI devices. I am too honest and genuine to not respect the wishes of my colleagues.”
Sasha raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t seem to stop you from finding workarounds. I saw the flash in Isaac’s eyes.”
Laurie shrugged. “It’s past ten p.m. The meeting will start soon, and I figured I needed to remind you to get a move on.”
“If I turned up in high dress, you would say I was fashionably late.” The commander scoffed as he walked past Laurie, who fell into step behind him.
“You are quite right about that, but it would be like finding a perpetual energy core—not likely, and not anytime soon.” Laurie sighed as he buttoned his designer jacket in the cold night air. “I’m not sure I’ve seen you wear anything other than uniforms or regulation coats since that dinner before the year started.”
“Haven’t had a need to, and a League meeting isn’t exactly a formal occasion,” Sasha noted.
“Perhaps not, but you should take the opportunity to set an example. Looking your best at every opportunity sends out a message of confidence that the others will greatly respect.”
“I’ll have to remember to wear something more formal the next time Wulfson tries to drag me into another sparring match. I’m sure my dashing apparel will intimidate him.” The commander deadpanned, his tone suitably indifferent to the apparent sarcasm in his words.
Laurie scoffed. “If only! Then I wouldn’t have so much trouble with that hybrid of bear fur and Neanderthal.”
“Speaking of which,” Sasha began, looking over his shoulder to Laurie, “how is his training with Initiate Jericho going?”
Laurie looked in the direction of Wulfson’s personal barracks. “Well enough. He’s shown much physical improvement over the last three months. Increased endurance and stamina, better skills in physical and melee arms combat, along with mild improvement in team coordination.”
“Only mild?” Sasha asked.
“Well, it seems my plan to pair Kaiden with someone more…akin to his personality had a few drawbacks,” Laurie admitted, though he seemed a little sulky, as if the confession were one he’d prefer not to make.
“Wulfson should be excellent in teaching team skills and leadership. He was a captain in the UEA and is currently the Head Security Officer of the Academy. Both those positions require a vast knowledge of what it means to lead and the importance of cooperation.”
“I would agree with you, for the most part,” Laurie retorted. “But Wulfson also had the trump card of…‘encouraging’ those in his employ to follow his rules or deal with the punishments that he personally dished out.”
Sasha stopped, looking back. The revelation intrigued him. “Does he not do this with Kaiden?”
The commander sighed. “Or he’s far too stupid for it to be effective.”
“I’m going to smother you in your sleep, you gigantic bastard!” Kaiden shouted, anger and malice lacing his voice.
“Nice of you to give me warning beforehand. Real generous of you.” Wulfson scoffed. “I’ve only got a few shots left, and I’m ready to turn in for the night, so let’s finish this right quick.”
Kaiden saw Wulfson take aim with his grenade launcher once more and hurried to voice the question that had nagged at him throughout the entire training exercise. “What the hell is this teaching me, exactly?”
“The dangers of high explosives?” Chief suggested. Kaiden wished, not for the first time, that his EI was a little less quick to involve itself where it definitely wasn’t needed.
“I was already quite aware of that,” Kaiden replied.
“Well, think of the calories you’re burning between the quick-steps, dives, and terror-induced adrenaline,” the EI chirped. How did an electronic device manage what sounded like real amusement?
“Why are you so calm about this?”
“Firing!” Wulfson shouted.
“Dammit!” Kaiden yelped, diving behind a holo barrier. The projectile landed a few yards away, shocks sparking out of it and zapping him despite his efforts to maintain cover.
“Ow—what the hell?”
“Tesla grenade, slightly powered down. The holo barrier doesn’t really protect against that. More retardant than resistant.”
“Some forewarning would have been nice,” Kaiden growled his displeasure. “He used bean bags before.” He stood up and hopped in place for a moment as his body spasmed slightly from the shock.
Chief’s eye narrowed, his round avatar jigging a little in the top left corner of Kaiden’s lens. “I might have been more inclined to help you out here if your big mouth hadn’t gotten us into this in the first place.”
“All I said was I wanted something a little different. I didn’t realize this was on the table.”
“Your exact words were, ‘Come on, you drunk blond gorilla, give me a real challenge. Otherwise, I might start thinking Laurie’s got more fight in him than you.’ And you know how much he hates Laurie.”
“Well, okay, that might have been a little over the top, but it was an encouragement.”
“And I’m sure this next grenade is coming from a place of love.”
“Next gren— Oh, shit!” he shouted when he saw Wulfson take aim directly at him. He dove to the left as the man pulled the trigger. The shot flew past him and exploded, sending more electric shocks through Kaiden, who collapsed on the floor.
“This is not going well for you,” Chief muttered.
“I’ve noticed.” Kaiden pushed himself up.
“As much fun as I’m having, lad, time to wrap this up!” Wulfson shouted, cracking the gun open and inserting two more grenades. “Got two shots left, so I’m just going to send both of them at you. Good by you?”
Kaiden rested his hands on his knees, sweat pouring down his face and his breathing ragged. “Are you really asking?”
“Nah, rhetorical question.” Wulfson snapped the launcher’s barrel back in place. “But it seemed impolite not to at least pretend to care.”
“I’ll be sure that no one ever says that the Head of Security is not a gentleman,” Kaiden jeered.
“How nice of you.” Wulfson chuckled. “I’ll give you a moment of respite, let you get the tingles out before I light you up again.”
“So you just gonna take it?” Chief asked.
“Hell, no. I have a plan.” Kaiden drew his pistol.
“You think that little thing is gonna work on him? It’s a glorified stun gun,” Chief mocked.
“I’m not going for him. I’m going to aim at the grenades.” Kaiden pressed down on the trigger and heard the whir of the gun powering up. “Activate Battle Suite, Chief.”
“You sure about this?” the EI asked as the words Battle Suite Initiated popped up on the display. “Even a powered-up shot won’t bust that gun.”
“I’m merely trying to hit one of the grenades. That’ll hopefully touch off the other one and give the geezer some blowback.”
“Bonus points for poetic justice if it works out.”
“Firing,” Wulfson declared.
Initialized appeared on the screen before disappearing. The air around him seemed to slow as Kaiden focused on the barrel of the launcher, taking aim with his fully charged pistol. He could see the moment Wulfson pulled the trigger. He zoomed into the barrel to focus on the grenades, releasing his own trigger the instant he saw the projectiles begin to emerge.
A white streak left his gun and collided with the grenade, but instead of electricity, white powder exploded everywhere.
“Is Wulfson joining us as well?” Laurie asked.
Sasha shook his head. “No, he will actually be heading into town later tonight to pick up an old acquaintance of his. I’m assuming he’ll leave right after Kaiden’s training.”
“That is probably for the best. Less competition,” Laurie noted as they approached the Observation Building.
“Will you participate this year, Laurie?” Sasha reached to open the door.
The professor shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. I don’t have the time for such distractions this year. I have other things to attend to.”
Sasha released the door handle and looked back. “This wouldn’t be due to your...interesting findings, would it?”
Laurie smiled. “You do remember our little chats. You always seem so distant that I worry it’s a case of in one ear and out the other.”
Sasha took a few steps back, motioning for Laurie to follow him to the side of the building and into the dark. “Have you found anything new?”
“Well, using the program hiding in Kaiden’s EI, I was able to find a coded signature.”
“Is it the Council?” Sasha asked, taking off his oculars.
“It would certainly seem so. Not many others are capable of hacking into my department unnoticed, and even fewer are able to crack my devices and infiltrate an EI as this did.”
“How did it even get into Initiate Jericho’s EI?”
“It was implanted during the EI startup, disguised as a general application. It was loaded into the neural device itself beforehand.”
“So they were waiting for you to use it?” the commander asked.
“It would seem so.”
“Was it to steal schematics or keep track of you?”
Laurie shook his head. “It doesn’t appear that either of those has merit. I personally went through all my other personal projects and found nothing out of order or manipulated. I had my staff check all the other students’ EIs and devices during updates since then, and nothing else came up.”
Sasha crossed his arms, his eyes closed in thought. “So that would mean whoever tampered with the neural device—”
“Was probably looking for it specifically and is interested to see it in action,” Laurie finished, his tone a little grim for once. A short silence followed in which both men considered the ramifications.
“Have you told Kaiden anything?”
“Not so far.”
“You wiped the EI?”
Laurie frowned. “Of course I did. You’re beginning to make it sound like I’m incompetent.”
Sasha sighed. “Just checking all the bases.”
